The Fire
by xXKaiOfHeartsXx
Summary: Just because Voldemort has been defeated, doesn't mean there are no more dark wizards. Harry, who is tired of fighting evil, begins working with Dragons and Charlie. As he begins to fall in love, the world around him starts to fall apart. CharliexHarry
1. The Arrival

**The Fire  
**by Kai

* * *

"Some say the world will end in fire,  
Some say in ice  
From what I've tasted of desire  
I hold with those who favor fire..."

-Robert Frost, "Fire and Ice"

* * *

_Chapter One: The Arrival_

It was hot. Of course, for Charlie, this was not news. He did not know what the temperature was exactly as no one ever bothered to check the thermometer.

But ignorance was bliss, and to be totally honest – he didn't mind all that much. It had taken some time to adjust to the setting, but it had been worth it. What he truly found was hell, were the dragon skin pants. Which, while not entirely uncomfortable, did not allow his skin to breath. The price to pay for fiery protection, he reasoned with himself.

Of course, now being a Weasley of heat, every time he visited his home, he was surprised at how cold it was.

He had changed.

Of course, that last visit had changed everything, he supposed. Had he not gone back home to celebrate his younger brother's marriage, he would have been in one of the dragon's pens, cleaning at that very moment. But today was the day he deviated from his schedule. He got up an hour later. He allowed himself five extra minutes in the shower, and he spent another half hour tidying up his living quarters.

The dragon reserve itself was hidden within a Romanian National Park, disguised by magic and fake trees. Each "ranger", as they liked to call themselves, lived in a shack of sorts, with a group of two or three other members. Charlie, being one of the highest ranking "rangers," had set up a new shack, for him and the new comer.

It was small, yet the size mattered not. Magic, he thought, could have made it better, but Charlie knew when enough was enough. This particular building had a tiny bedroom to the side with two bunk beds on opposite walls. Connected to that room was the bathroom, and in the main area was a small living room/dining room and a kitchen. It could, with vast comfort zones, house four rangers.

For now it housed one, but that would soon change.

Charlie Weasley was nervous, but it was the kind of nervous that accompanied all forms of change, unknowing how every moment was to play out was part of the fun.

The shower had been nice – it had woken him up and had refreshed him. His hair was still damp, and pressed against his pale head in soft red waves. It had grown out a bit, now a certifiable mess. Sometime soon, he had thought, gazing into the mirror as he soaked up the water from his smooth chest, sometime soon he would have to get it cut. But soon would not be for a while.

Slowly he pulled a tattered T-shirt over his head and stared into the eyes of his reflection, No, he mused, I should at least _try _to make an impression...

He took it off and threw it into the pile that was beginning to accumulate on the bathroom floor, and found himself in his bedroom, holding up shirt after shirt, questioning which to pick. His ass still exposed, he finally decided upon a reasonable black shirt, and proceeded to hunt down a pair of underwear.

A fortnight later (alright, it was three minutes), he had successfully dressed himself, and had managed to wrestle all of his spare clothes to the bottom of his bunk. Over the many years he had spent in Romania, he had accumulated more and more clothes, it wasn't a matter of necessity, just habit. A new sweater every Christmas, various undergarments here and there, the odd birthday shirt, plus the suitcase of stuff he had brought with him – they all added up to an entire mattress full.

Charlie laced up the front of his dragon skin pants and loosely tied the strings. He took a glance around the pitiful room and sighed: there wasn't much he could actually do to make it look better, except, maybe... He waved his wand and a whirlwind of dust slowly separated itself from the nooks and crannies that the room had to offer, and vanished into nothingness.

He smiled to himself. "Much better," he complimented aloud.

He trotted to the living room and straightened things, instead using his hands to meticulously place the throw on the couch, and every little thing that filled the cabin.

It would be soon now that he would arrive. He would come by a timed portkey and would then be escorted by a Romanian Diplomat-Wizard to the Romanian Dragon Reserve, or the RDR. There one of the other members would bring him to Charlies cabin, where he would get acclimated to his new surroundings and settle in for the day.

Charlie was excited. He loved the dragons, and he loved being a part of the training process for new rangers and dragons a like. He liked to think that he was helping the magical world by keeping the dragons in this preserve.

Charlie poured himself a glass of orange juice and chugged it down. He was a short but broad man whose face was so freckle-filled that he simply looked tan.

And then there was a short rap at the door. He set the glass down in the sink and walked to the door and opened it.

Harry Potter stood there with a suitcase situated at his feet. He was wearing a pair of faded jeans and a white under shirt that was partially translucent.

"Hello again," Charlie stated, smiling a bit.

"Hi." Harry looked at Charlie for a moment and then went in for a hug. "It's bloody hot up here in the Res."

"Tell me about it." They disentangled themselves. Charlie moved away from the door and gestured for Harry to enter, "Do come in. Make yourself at home as this will be your home for a while now, I suppose."

"Yeah. Thanks Charlie. Oh, by the way the girl who escorted me to your door went back to work."

"Aimee?"

"Yeah."

"That's alright. More time to ourselves, eh?" Charlie closed the door behind the boy-who-lived and then gazed at his home. Being around different people made Charlie look at things differently, and suddenly he had become self conscious about the shack they would be sharing. "Um. I know it's kind of small. But it's cozy and we shouldn't be spending all that much time here anyways, so I hope you like it."

"Trust me, I've lived in much smaller. It's nice though." Harry gave Charlie a grin and took a few extra steps away from the door.

"Shall I give you a grand tour?"

"Yes, please."

"Alright then. Right now, we are in the fabulous living room, if you'll notice to your right, that's the kitchen, and if you take a few more steps this way... here is the small dining room separated by that half-wall there." He pointed to it and looked back at Harry. "Over here," Charlie continued, walking back to the door, "Over here is the bedroom. There's two bunk beds, so you'll get that one and you can just use the bottom level as storage."

Harry tossed his suitcase on the bed. "What's that door?" He asked.

"The loo."

"Lovely!"

"Ah, yeah. So..." The boys walked back out into the living room. "That concludes the tour of Casa de Dragon."

"Mmm. I like it. It's comfortable. So when do I start working and/or training?" Harry cautiously perched himself on the arm of the couch. Charlie leaned against the wall.

"Tomorrow. Today I thought we'd just hang out and then tomorrow I'll show you around and get you started on everything."

"That sounds nice."

"It should be. So uh, I trust your trip went swimmingly."

"Yeah. It went perfectly, and it couldn't have come at a better time."

"How so?"

"Oh." Harry looked almost embarrassed for a moment, " well Ginny and I kind of got into a fight and it was getting pretty heavy. And... yeah. It wasn't very pretty."

"So you used this as an excuse to run away from her."

"She wants kids, and I told her I wasn't – am not ready for them, and that I don't know if I'll ever be." Harry removed his gaze from the hard-wood floors and looked up into Charlie's brown eyes. "We had an expiration date, so I chose today."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"It's fine."

They fell into an awkward silence, and then Charlie kicked himself off of the wall, walked to the couch, and settled in next to the other boy. In an attempt to change the subject, Charlie asked, "So why did you choose dragons? You could have been anything. Everyone want's to say that they worked with the boy-who-lived, so why dragons, why here?"

"Uh. Well originally I wanted to be an Auror, however I've had enough dark wizards to last me a life time. Once I had defeated Voldemort, I knew that that was it. I would never do it again, because I died that day, and call me selfish, but I don't intend to die again."

"That's not selfish. That's human, and smart."

"So anyways, I thought about what I wanted to do, and I was in a bit of a slump for a while – and then I saw you at Ron and Hermione's wedding, and I remembered how much of a rush I had when I went up against that Hungarian Horntail and the dragon in Gringotts, and I figured that's what I wanted to do."

Charlie let the information sink in for a moment before responding. "I didn't fight a dragon, but I rescued one in my fifth year, when I came across a couple of snatchers at The Leaky Cauldron. It was pretty reckless of me, but I loved the thing, and I knew from that moment on I wanted to work with dragons."

"Wow."

"Yeah. They're beautiful creatures."

"Stunning."

The red head let out a wistful sigh. "Anyways, how about I make you supper to celebrate your arrival."

"That'd be lovely."

* * *

This is un-beta'd.

Please review, as reviews make me feel warm inside and make me want to write even more.

Also, please forgive me if my British slang is terrible, as I am American, and am attempting to keep a similar language by thinking (and reading aloud) in a British accent. If something is off, please tell me and maybe I'll fix it. (I will not fix things like color vs colour).

Anyways, review, review, review!

Love, KAI

p.s. Yes, this story is/will become CharliexHarry (Harlie? Charry?) slash. There simply isn't enough!


	2. Day One

**The Fire  
**By Kai

* * *

_Chapter Two: Day One_

"Up!"

The light was blinding and Harry couldn't quite remember if he was alive or dead. "Whaa...?"

He heard a chuckle and a rough hand on his arm, yanking him awake. "Harry, you need to get up to get started on your dragon training."

Harry's eyes shot open and he jolted up in his bed, thus hitting his head on the ceiling, reminding him that he was in fact on the top bunk of a bunk bed. "Oh, ow... shit, shit, shit. Morning Charlie. At what ungodly hour is this?"

"It's three."

Harry coughed, and cleared his throat, "Why?"

Charlie just smiled. "You alright?"

"Yeah."

"Then get up, eh?"

Charlie jumped down from the first step on the ladder of the bunk bed. "Yeah. Sure... Fine," Harry proceeded to plop his throbbing head back on his pillow and closed his eyes. "I'll just get up in a minute or two..."

Snores.

The red head sighed, and then smirked to himself. "I really didn't want to do this, but you leave me no choice." He took his wand from his pocket and pointed at Harry's head. "_Aguamenti._" The top part of Harry's bed filled with cold water, and the raven haired man jolted up once again, once again hitting his head on the ceiling.

"Ow... CHARLIE!"

The older man laughed. "Oy! Get up you!"

"Honestly, you're just as bad as George..."

"Get up. The dragon's are waiting."

"Alright, fine I'm getting up. I'm getting up..."

Charlie looked up at Harry, and crossed his arms. "Are you getting up anytime soon?"

"Yeah, I am." Harry made no move to even begin the process.

"Well?"

Shyly, Harry asked, "Could you maybe turn around? I erm... need to find some underwear."

Charlie could have sworn he saw Harry's cheeks match his own hair in color, but he chalked it up to the man's grogginess. "Fine," Charley replied tersely. He spun around, and after thinking for a moment, walked out of the room.

Harry, who had just exhaled a sigh of relief, swung a leg over the side of the bed, and began scouring for his clothes...

The sun still hadn't risen as the two men walked down a gravel pathway through a thicket of forest. Floating behind them were large pails of food for the baby dragons. "So Harry. Here's what's going to happen. When we arrive at the designated apparation point, we'll go to each cave. The baby dragons get fed some of the slop, but the adult dragons are more then capable of fending for themselves, so we won't worry about them."

Harry gave him a look.

"They know not to eat the humans."

"Right." A pause. "What else do we do?"

"Well, after breakfast we'll clean out their dens and spend some time training the little ones."

"Train?"

"Harry, what did you think you signed up for? A joy ride on the back of a dragon, and some wards?" Harry looked a little glum. "This is the greatest and most enjoyable job in the world: but you gotta give some effort to reap the benefits."

"Okay."

"And maybe when we get back home, you can change out of your designer jeans?"

"Yeah..."

"Don't worry, soon enough you'll be a pro."

"Alright."

They continued walking.

"Alright then. Well, the faster we can get through this work the faster we can eat. My _Prophet_ doesn't arrive till later, so you'll have to wait for that."

"You get the _Daily Prophet_ all the way in Romania?"

"Yeah, George owls it to me when he's done. I must say that I'm quite addicted to that Rita Skeeter woman..."

Harry groaned and dryly added, "You don't say?"

They walked in a comfortable silence for a few minutes more, before Charlie said, "Anyways, we're here."

Harry froze and looked confused for a moment before he gave a sheepish smile and confessed, "Sorry. I forgot we were walking."

Charlie gave him a look but just grinned back, "Brilliant, you." Harry blushed. "Um, I suppose since you don't know the lay of the land you can side-along with me."

All of the pales that had been hovering behind the duo, except for one, had now sunken to the ground. Charlie pointed his wand at the remaining one, and it came closer and closer to them. Soon it was settled to the gravel in front of them. Charlie grabbed the handle and held out his arm for the other man.

Harry grabbed hold of it, and suddenly a loud _crack,_ indicating that he would feel that familiar sensation of being forced through a tiny rubber tube, rang through the forest.

He found himself on a ledge, about to fall off. His foot slid off the side of the cliff causing his body to collapse underneath him and his legs to smash into the ground. He saved himself by clawing at Charlie's arm. Charlie gave a grunt and pulled Harry up to his feet. "You okay?" He asked.

"Fine. But I can't see a bloody thing, and my pants are ruined!" He took a moment to re-evaluate his situation, "I guess that's my own damn fault."

"You're fine then?" Harry nodded. "Sorry. _Scourgify_," he said, causing Harry's pants to clean themselves. "I guess I've gotten so used to being up so early that my eyes are good at adjusting." The older man then raised his wand and whispered, "_Lumos_." A ball of white light appeared at the tip and illuminated the cave in front of them.

Harry was about to say, "It's huge," but his voice got caught and he gasped for breath.

"Shit. I also forgot we're at a higher elevation. I'm so so sorry. You alright?"

Harry nodded, grabbed his chest, and motioned that he'd just need a minute to catch his breath. Charlie waited patiently, gazing at the man with a worried expression bubbling underneath his skin. He switched his wand to his right hand, and awkwardly patted Harry's shoulder. He continued to rub it gently when Harry's breath finally normalized. "I'm good," he croaked.

"God I'm sorry. I honestly forgot how hard it was to acclimate to the surroundings when I first got here."

"It's fine, it's fine! It'll all be better with time," Harry said catching the Weasley's eye. They shared a moment together before Charlie promptly removed his hand from Harry's back and they both turned their attention back to the cave. "So what now?"

"Alright, first we set the food up for the baby dragons. They've got a pit inside. And we'll start a fire for them. Dragons like a pre-made fire in the morning. Makes them at ease when they wake up."

"That's not to bad."

"No, it's not. It gets bad when we have to do the same thing for 50 other dens."

Harry coughed. "What!"

"We've got 50 other dens to hit up, on our list."

"But there were like ten other team members, why don't they do some?"

"Because they've got their own allotment of dens to do. Did you think there were like five dragons, because I'll tell you now that we have over a thousand dragons."

"Oh. But you don't have that many pales of food."

"Because there aren't that many baby dragons."

"So why are we up this early, again?"

"Because the dragons wake up as the sun rises."

"Oh."

"But as soon as we get through all that we have to get through I have a surprise for you," Charlie added. He smiled slyly and pointed to bucket of mush with his wand and it rose. He walked into the cave, and he gestured for Harry to join him. Hesitantly the other man followed him and they walked. They kept walking until they reached a crevice in the cave. "Alright, now we jump down."

"What?"

"Trust me."

The mush had already fallen down the hole and Harry looked like the vomit from their apperation could come up at any moment. "It's to early for this. I just want to go back to bed."

"Oh shut up." And with those parting words, Charlie was gone. Harry looked around for a moment, hoping it was a trick. "I can't believe I'm doing this." He jumped down the crack, and...

...did not fall. Instead it warped him into a place deep within the mountain. His feet landed hard on a dirt floor and he saw Charlie waiting just a few paces ahead. Behind him, lining the wall, was a large statue of a dragon. "This is crazy," he muttered.

Charlie smiled and whispered, "_Lumos Maximum_," throwing a ball of light into the air. Harry could see the forms of three dragons snoring. He couldn't quite tell what type they were and was just about to ask when Charlie shushed him. "They're still asleep. Best not to wake a sleeping dragon," he advised. "Go start a fire," pointing to a fire pit not to far from where they stood.

Harry nodded and walked towards the fire pit while Charlie manipulated the mush into a trough in the ground. Harry looked into the pit and saw some burnt wood. He grabbed some sticks and branches from a near by pile and stuffed them underneath the large pieces of wood. He added another log for good measure and stood back, satisfied. With one swift movement he whipped his wand out of his pocket, "_Incendio_." Suddenly a cackling fire sprung up from the wood and blazed in the morning time. He looked back at Charlie who grinned, and gave him a thumbs up sign. Taking a few steps back he stared at the dragons, marveling at their magnificence. "Wow," he mouthed. He exhaled slowly and gave a slight jump when again, he felt Charlie's arm on his back. "They're gorgeous," he commented.

"Yes," the red head replied. "And there are plenty more. Come on, let's go."

Charlie walked back to the point that they had landed at and Harry soon followed. Charlie waved his wand at the ball of light floating at the roof of the cave room and it floated back to the tip of his wand. He then mounted the back of the dragon statue, gesturing for Harry to join him. Once Harry had secured his arms around Charlie's waist, the older man grinned and pointed his wand at the dragon and cautioned, "This is my favorite part. Hold on. _Piertotum Locomotor_."

The dragon sprung into life and leaped into the air. As if it had been trained to do this its entire life, it quietly circled the room one time before zooming towards the wall that it had come from. Harry made a great effort to keep from yelling as they passed through the expanse of dirt and stone and popped up from the abyss that Harry had jumped down only a few minutes before. The stone dragon landed them safely on the ground and the two men slided off, laughing nervously but still as excited as children. The dragon jumped back down the false crevice, as the duo turned and walked towards the ledge.

"That was bloody amazing," Harry said after a few moments.

Charlie laughed, again. "I know." As they approached the outside of the cave, the night was still heavy but their eyes weren't as wary as they were before. Charlie extinguished his wand with a simple, "_Nox_," and they went on finishing their rounds, completing them exactly as the sun began to reveal itself.

* * *

FINISHED! As usual, it's un-beta'd.

I have a Harry Potter poll on my bio, so check that out. I'll be interested to see what y'all say!

It should be noted that, obviously, this story is not epilogue compliant; however, the spells I used are all from the books.

Thanks for the reviews, alerts, favorites, etc... :D  
Much love, KAI


	3. Everything Else

**The Fire  
**By Kai

* * *

_Chapter Three: Everything Else_

"So what was that surprise you had in store?"

Charlie grinned.

They had finished their morning rounds for the first time, and Harry was beginning to get into the rhythm of the job. But not only that, he had started falling in love with the dragons. If he loved them this much while they were asleep, he reasoned, then he would love them exponentially more when they were awake.

The two boys were taking a breather on another ledge, of another cave, of another mountain. The sun was peaking out from the other side of the world, painting the sky shades of pink and blue.

"I was thinking that it's time that I introduce you to the rest of the members of the Res."

"Yeah, that sounds appropriate."

"But before that, I brought breakfast with us." Harry turned and faced Charlie, and Charlie gave a little blush. "I figured we could have a picnic."

"Just us?"  
"Y-yeah."

"That sounds lovely. Um... where _is_ the food, though?" Harry asked looking around – hoping that maybe Charlie had hidden it behind a tree or something.

Charlie patted his pocket and Harry realized that Magic most definitely had a role in the older man's plan. "I think that since you're the new man in town, you should choose where we eat breakfast. You _have_ just seen all the beautiful mountains Romania has to offer..."

"Seen" was a relative term. It had been dark, but Harry had, more or less, seen sections of the mountains by wand light. "Alright, well, how about that mountain with Fyre?"

Charlie laughed. "Of course."

Fyre was not a horrible misspelling of a characteristic attributed to a volcano. It was the name of a young dragon that Harry had seen curled up in a ball next to his mother. Charlie had told him that he was named so because his scales looked like charcoal, and because he came out of his mother puffing flames. Something that was unusual for a new born dragon, but not entirely unheard of.

But Fyre wasn't that mountains only attraction. The mountain itself was gorgeous, and although Harry had only a few glimpses of it, he could tell it was perfect. It looked as if it had been taken out of a post card and applied to real life, with its naturally manicured trees and meticulously placed patches of snow. It was the ultimate destination.

And so they went. It hadn't taken long. Just a quick Apparation and some walking, and they found themselves the perfect clearing.

From his pocket, Charlie withdrew a tiny basket no larger then a thumb nail. He gingerly set it on the ground, pointed his wand at it and murmured, "_Engorgio_."

It readily increased in size, soon becoming one of the largest picnic baskets Harry had ever seen; of course, he'd really only seen one - a tan wicker basket that Vernon Dursley insisted they use for a picnic many, many years ago. However, Dudley had thrown a fit so the picnic had become a table meal while Dudley's eyes were constantly glued to the television set.

The basket had since stopped growing. From it, Charlie took out a large blue blanket and he spread it over the ground. He dragged the basket onto a corner and plopped himself on it. "Come on," he said to Harry who had been lost in thought. Charlie patted the space next to him.

Harry joined him and crossed his legs. "So what's for breakfast?"

Charlie smiled and stuck his arm in his basket. "Being second oldest, I never had to learn how to cook." Harry gulped nervously. "But mum showed me a few tricks. So behold:" Charlie brought out a large platter of pancakes, and another of eggs, and a stack of buttered toast, and some strips of bacon. All of which were still steaming, for Charlie had cast a preservation spell upon them before they went out that morning.

"Are you sure you cooked for just us? Or did you forget to invite the rest of the reservation?"

"I didn't know what you liked."

"I like it all."

"Perfect."

"So what do you want?" Charlie pulled out two plates and some forks and handed a set to the raven-haired boy.

"A bit of everything, please?"

"Sure."

The pair spent half an hour talking and eating, stuffing themselves, then stuffing themselves again. They had mutually and silently settled upon a rhythmic give and take of their playful banter until, at last, the conversation arrived at a lull. It was a comfortable silence, followed quickly by sly glances to the other man.

But before anything could develop, Charlie had decided that their time was up. "I should clean," he mumbled after the two had had an intimate staring contest that lasted for a particularly lengthy period of time.

"Yeah, sure. I'll help," Harry added, cleaning his plate with a spell. He handed it to Charlie, who had done the same to his own plate, and the Weasley placed it all back into the basket.

Charlie repackaged the food and folded the blanket and shrunk the basket so it was, once again, no larger then a coin. He placed it in his pocket and checked the time by looking at a watch fastened securely around his wrist. Harry noted to himself that the integration of Muggle artifacts was becoming more and more common.

Charlie, looking up, thought for a moment before saying, "I'll give the rest of the Res fifteen more minutes before I call to them. You excited?"

"Sure."

Charlie laughed. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm just a bit anxious."

"Alright. Well, you already know me. And of course, you met Aimee on the way in."

"Yeah..." Harry sounded less then enthusiastic, which caused Charlie to raise his eyebrows. Aimee was, by all definitions of the word, harsh. She had short choppy brown hair that made her chin look larger then it actually was. She generally wore tight shirts which accentuated both her bulky breasts and her muscle, and khaki cargo pants which accentuated nothing. She was nice enough, but had a way with words, usually (and unintentionally) sounding a lot meaner then she meant to be. Harry decided that Aimee was an acquired taste.

"Don't worry. She's got a soft core when you get to know her."

"Charlie, don't laugh when I ask this," Harry stated quietly, "but, is Aimee a lesbian?"

Charlie laughed, and Harry maintained his blank face. "Harry," he started, "none of us here at the Res have any idea."

"Oh. Alright," Harry said nothing for a moment, then added, "Can you tell me the names of everyone else just so I can get acquainted before I meet them?"

"Sure. Besides the two you've already met, it goes: Dennis, Ruby, Hannah, Marco, Ester, Tarren, Robert and Javier in no particular order."

Harry repeated the names a few times in his head, before he decided that he memorized them to the best of his abilities. "Alright, I think I'm ready to meet them."

Charlie's eyes lit up. "Alright, well... I think here is as good a place as any." Then, "Oh, Anti-Apparation spells...forgot about them." He whipped out his wand and walked around a bit, tip in the air, left hand palm facing forwards as if he was about to bump into something. He walked all around the mountain trail, with Harry following a few paces behind, then he stopped at a clearing of no apparent significance. "Here is fine." Harry smiled impatiently, and Charlie closed his eyes with his wand pointed to the sky.

A sound escaped the red head's lips, sounding eerily like the groan of an old door while swinging open in the darkness of the night. Suddenly blue sparks with a trail of light behind them shot into the sky looking like a cross between a thunder bolt, a firecracker, and a star.

With that, people started appearing.

First came Dennis Patterson who was another guy of a similar age to Harry. He had short blonde hair and bright blue eyes. He was followed quickly by Aimee who also had a drenched Tarren clenched to her arms. Tarren was a tall man with broad shoulders and stringy black hair. He looked as if he could twist Harry up into a pretzel within seconds, but his throaty laugh gave him away.

It was a moment of introductions before Robert Taylor appeared looking thoroughly angry. He glared at Dennis whose grin was quickly wiped off his face. The slightly older man excused himself, after briefly greeting Harry, to go have a "talk" with the younger man. Dennis ended up with tears at the side of his eyes, although he'd never admit it.

Three girls appeared next to each other, one after another; the culprits being Ruby Meyer, a misplaced beauty queen with thighs of steel, Hannah Hepler, a middle aged woman with greying hair and an exasperated expression on her face, and Ester Moore, an American whose transfiguration talents could rival those of McGonnigal's.

Lastly came Javier Martinez, a Spanish man with a head full of thick black hair and a mouth full of foreign expletives, and his fellow ranger, Marco Moore with an unfortunate alliterative name and an awkward disposition.

The group spent a good hour socializing before, slowly, they began to break up to go continue on the other tasks that they had, like training some of the younger dragons and taking naps to revitalize for the evening. At last only Harry and Charlie remained. Charlie decided that Harry had done enough for his first day, and sent him home to rest until lunch as Charlie continued on with work.

After a bit of searching, Harry finally found the shack that he had set up home in. He walked into the shack, and noticed a slightly wrinkled copy of _The Daily Prophet_ sitting on the kitchen counter. He was about to ignore it when he noticed large flashing words that read:** BREAKING NEWS**! He picked up the paper, and began to read...

**HE-WHO-SHOULD-ALSO-NOT-BE-NAMED:  
**_A New Dark Lord Rises?  
_By Rita Skeeter

The wizarding world thought it saw the last of dark wizards, at least for a long while, when the defeat of He-Who-Should-Not-Be-Named went public. You-Know-Who's defeat, which I wrote about in my publication _Harry Potter: Trials and Triumphs_ (the first anniversary revised edition, with over 175 new pages of content, is out next week), came as a great shock to the wizarding world.

But is the party over?

It seems as if a new era has dawned, one characterized by a new dark lord. The past two weeks alone have held three murders by use of the highly unforgivable killing curse. While the victims are seemingly unrelated, a reliable source tells me that all three have gotten in the way of this new power house.

However, if there even is a new dark lord on the rise, he has yet to show himself... [STORY CONTINUES ON PAGE 3B]

Harry threw the paper back onto the counter, and gazed hollowly around the room. _I may lose all of this_, he thought to himself, _and I just got here_. It had been about a year since Voldemort. Since that final battle, and his brief stint as a dead man. So much had changed. _He_ had changed.

He was determined to be as distantly involved in this as possible. Harry tore the article out of the newspaper, stuffed it in his pocket, and stalked into the bathroom, stripping off his clothes to take a quick shower before falling into an uneasy sleep.

* * *

And the plot thickens... Yes, this chapter was fluff, and I don't really like it, but it's basically a segue between the exposition and where the plot starts. I have the next few chapters planned out and it's going to be super exciting, I think!

I noticed that Charlie does a lot of laughing/grinning/smiling. I guess he's a naturally cheery person. Brownie points to the person who can suggest the best synonym for laughing/grinning/smiling!

Also, as with her character, Rita _is_ wrong about _something_ in her article...

If you didn't notice, this took me forever to post. That's because I didn't get enough review-juice (the energy I get from reading and replying to reviews, similar to gas). So review! I love hearing your thoughts, opinions, ideas, and complaints!

As always, un-beta'd...  
Much love, KAI


	4. Heroes

**The Fire  
**By Kai

* * *

_Chapter Four: Heroes_

In a week, many things happened to Harry. The first was that he had grown into his role as Dragon-tamer-in-training. It had become effortless, almost second nature for him. He knew how to approach the dragons, with calm control, and he could relate with them (they were both powerful outcasts). It was as if they instantly revered him.

The second thing that happened was that the uprising dark wizard struck again, this time hitting a little closer to home... but more on that later.

Harry watched as Charlie messed around with a young dragon. He was supposed to be taking notes of what Charlie was doing, so he could learn what to do for future reference, but the most he could think about was the heat. It wasn't that Romania was particularly hot this time of year, it was that the hot nature of dragons caused Romania to be hotter then it should have been.

Harry had long since stopped wearing a shirt, especially when working in such close proximity to the beasts. He did, however, relent to Charlie's wishes and now wore black dragon-hide pants. They were suffocating his pores, and were outrageously warm, but fire resistance was fire resistance. He also thought he looked mighty attractive in them, so that was a bonus.

He was no longer taking any more chances, and his hair was another token of his new stance.

A close call only two days ago, in which a dragon had breathed some fire in Harry's general direction and the raven-haired boy's hair began to burn, is what caused this change. With valiant effort, the fire was extinguished and the hair had been hastily chopped short.

For once in his life, Harry almost enjoyed having short hair.

Charlie stumbled over his foot and laughed at himself. "Smooth," Harry called and Charlie flashed him a grin.

"All part of the job."

"Er... right." Harry leaned back against the tree which provided some shade for him. Charlie continued on fooling around with the feisty creature ("Her name is Bessie," Charlie had said. Harry had merely snorted in reply).

Just then he heard a _crack_ come from within the forest that lay around them. Harry straightened and looked around – but Charlie remained oblivious.

And then the noise was growing closer. _Crunch... Crunch... CRUNCH! _The last broken branch was followed by a muffled scream, and a disgruntled voice mumbling for something.

The voice, however, was distinctly familiar. A female's voice, definitely young...

Charlie, by this point, was staring in the same direction that Harry was, the dragon tittering around his feet, but the red head remained motionless.

Then the girl called out. "Harry! Charlie!" Harry turned back to catch Charlie's gaze. The older man shrugged and so Harry took a cautious step back within the forest.

"Hello?" He called.

"Harry! HARRY! FOLLOW MY VOICE!" It was Hermione.

Harry trailed after Hermione's words and soon found her in a heap on the floor of the forest, her wild hair blending in perfectly with the bunches of leaves that had fallen since Romania's foray into Autumn.

"Hello 'Mione," Harry said, with a grin on his face. She looked up and gave him a smile.

"Harry, nice to see you."

Harry stuck out his hand, and she grabbed it. He carefully pulled her up from where she lay. In her place was a leaf angel.

She gave him a tight hug, one that rivaled those of Mrs. Weasley's, and after a few minutes, finally pulled back. "I've missed you Harry."

"I've missed you too."

"I was just coming by to... er, Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"Why are you shirtless?"

"It's bloody hot up hear."

She shook her head and then produced a sad smile. "I can see that you're in better spirits then when you left. I hope you didn't give Charlie _too_ hard of a time."

Harry looked marginally offended and at the same time embarrassed. "I don't know what you mean?"

"I mean about Ginny. It can't have been easy seeing another Weasley so soon after you two... you know." It was Hermione's turn to look uncomfortable. It wasn't often that she got so personal with Harry, but she couldn't help it. She wanted to know why he was looking so refreshed mere _days_ after he had left Ginny for good.

"What?" Harry's anger was bubbling underneath his surface. He didn't want to yell at his best friend, for he knew she would cry, so he did the best he could to keep it hidden. In a strained voice, he continued, "Since I broke up with Ginny. And then wanted to get back together with her. Then she broke up with me. Then wanted to get back together with me. Then broke up with me again, only to return the next day to say it had been a mistake? Is that the _incident_ to which you are referring?"

She exhaled a breath she was not aware she was still holding. "I suppose so." Her face pinched, "Was it really that much drama? When you say it out loud it really does put it in perspective..." She snapped back into attention and searched Harry's emerald eyes through the lenses of the glasses that were, at this point, to small and no longer sufficient for him. "I... I'm glad you're doing alright. That makes one of you."

"What do you mean?"

"When I left, Ginny was still pretty depressed."

An evil look passed through Harry's eyes. "She deserves it for putting me through that hell."

"I'm not saying she didn't. I just, I-I," she was at a loss for words. Harry knew that the girl in front of him was so smart that she knew she had gone to far, but didn't know how to fix the situation. "Look Harry. That's not what I wanted to talk to you about, but – but I really am glad you're much better. Really." She went in for another hug, but this time Harry stood motionless. "I'm _sorry_ I brought it up," her voice was now desperate and pleading.

"I-" Harry hesitated. He did not want to give in, but he couldn't risk alienating any more of his friends. It was lucky enough Charlie wasn't mad at him. Harry could only imagine how Ron had felt when he left, for his best friend's face had been red with anger and George had magically closed Ron's mouth so that he couldn't say anything, nice or mean. "It's – you're right Hermione. I think I've just forgotten about it."

"You can't have forgotten about it. You two have been together for like two, three years. Relationships like that don't just stop. What you two need is some closure."

"What is there to close?"

"Why did you two break up?"

"Because, Hermione," Harry had started with such confidence, that Hermione cringed when Harry had finished saying her name, because it was then that he realized that he didn't know how to answer her question. "Because."

She gave a quick look of triumph, followed swiftly by a blank, theraputic face. "I thought so. Just, don't go running to the next girl you meet, Harry. Give yourself some time to get over her first. Going into a relationship with baggage is not easy." Harry only shook his head, slightly, in an act of not-committal agreement.

There was a heavy air that lay around them for what seemed like forever. Time ticked loudly inside Harry's mind until he finally gathered the strength to ask, "So what _was_ the reason that you came?"

"Harry. You know that there's this new dark lord-wizard-person on the rise. Rita's reported it in _The Daily Prophet_ – you've read the article, right?" Her voice had changed from meek, and was now laced with scathing revulsion.

Harry's face remained stone stiff, however he curtly replied with a simple, "yes."

"That blasted woman went and registered herself as an Animagus and is back to writing those _horrible_ lies. I mean, the _nerve! _ Why, I wish that someone would just-" Hermione stopped herself in her tracks and took a second to recompose, also using her moment to remove a few leaves that had stuck in her hair when she had fallen. "As I was saying, I make the utmost effort to take Rita with a grain of salt. But I don't know how she could mutilate a story like this into something totally fictional. I mean, _The Daily Prophet_ is printing it which means that it's possibly actually happening. I mean they covered up Voldemort's return a few years ago, why would they fake a new uprising?"

Harry shrugged.

"Anyways, Harry. I've been thinking – Ron and I have been thinking, and we think that it's time to create The New Order. Look, we need to be prepared. And without the brilliant minds of Dumbledore and Moody, amongst others," she looked wistful for a moment, "I thought we might as well start it up ourselves. I mean we're adults now, a-and you're the chosen one, you're the boy-who-lived-_twice..._ and I always get Outstanding's on everything, and Ron and I were both Prefects, and we're all connected with the Second Order of the Phoenix and we started the DA and I just think that... Harry. We need to be prepared for the worst. And I need you to lead us because you've done this before."

"I've never been a leader."

"But you _have _Harry! You've always led Ron and I through whatever we've been put through. Plus some of the greatest leaders are great fighters. And you're a great fighter!"

"But I had Dumbledore's help and my parent's love and there were-"

"Harry," Hermione said, abruptly ending his speech. "All the best fighters have people behind the scenes helping them along. Doesn't mean they're not deserving. Harry, I need a leader to help me through this."

"Hermione, I uh... I don't know."

"Yes, the answer is yes." She looked like a lost kid in a large super market. So utterly out of her element. "Say yes Harry. Please be my leader."

"No, I can't." It was a whisper. Barely audible.

"What?" she asked.

"No," It was louder this time. "I can't be your leader. I came here, to Romania to stop being a fighter. I don't want that anymore. I've died once. I've cheated death twice. I'm just as bad as the Peverell Brothers. I'm starting over Hermione. New place, new life."

Somewhere during Harry's moderate speech Hermione had begun crying but when he had finished he noticed that she was sobbing uncontrollably. "HARRY." She screamed, but her voice was hoarse and pained. "I NEED A HERO."

"No." Harry stood defiantly as she clutched his body, uncharacteristically vulnerable. He felt like shit, but then again so did Hermione.

Charlie stood not far from them, a witness to all that occurred, frozen in his own shock of how miserable they both looked. When at last Hermione had left Harry and Apperated back to London, Harry pivoted around and walked back towards the clearing where Charlie and the dragon had been playing. But Charlie intercepted Harry and gave him a hug. While their two bodies were pressing, Charlie leaned into Harry's ear and whispered something terrible. "The Dark One," he started. "The Dark One put Ron in St. Mungo's."

* * *

Wow. That's finished. Took a lot out of me. I was having a hard time writing this chapter, but then I put in Royksopp's _Senior_ and suddenly it all poured out of me. What I noticed was that it changed from a chapter about the future to a chapter about the past. But, I think that was necessary. As usual, it is un-beta'd.

You might be glad to know that I planned out the rest of this story. It will be an estimated total of 14 chapters... and will have a sequel. I know, I know. I can't believe it either.

Anyways, review and such. It's much appreciated.  
Much Love, KAI.

p.s. For those who want to know, _this_ story will _not_ become "M" rated. However, it's sequel might be.


	5. The Woman

**The Fire  
**By Kai

* * *

_Chapter Five: The Woman_

She had often been told how beautiful she was.

She, of course, reveled in this fact. Her vanity far exceeded her power, but it wasn't as if her power was none. She was, as most people liked to put it, great.

It was a sight however, to see her at her worst, which was to a certain few – her best. Her qualities changed quite instinctively and most who saw her in her vicious state, had a mad pallor about them. But it was uncommon to see her in her state and survive to tell the tale...

The woman walked down a street that was suspiciously unpopulated and stopped in front of what appeared to be an old department store that hadn't been open in quite a few years. In fact, it was so worn down that the sign above the door which read_ Purge and Dowse, Ltd._ had partly fallen away so that it was unclear as to the name of the establishment. She examined the establishment for a moment before she saw a sign on the doors that read CLOSED FOR REFURBISHMENT. She snickered and peered into the shop displays which played host to some mannequins that had since fallen over, and had accumulated quite a bit of dust.

The woman looked at a particular mannequin which bore a green nylon dress, and decided that the best course of action was to tell the mannequin exactly who she was seeing. The mannequin gave a slight nod that the woman nearly missed, and beckoned her inside. She looked skeptical for a moment, but took a step through the large pane of glass, unexpectedly passing right through it...

She emerged in St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. The waiting room was full of witches and wizards who were either stricken with outrageous ailments, or wailing in inpatient desire. The general effect was that of a mad house. They all clustered around a shabby wooden table: some standing, some sitting on dusty chairs. Out dated copies of _Witch Weekly_ mixed in with slightly newer editions of both _The Daily Prophet _and _The Quibbler_. She took off towards a hall way that was out of the way but was stopped by a slightly bewildered Medi-witch. "Excuse me, miss. But that section of the hospital is for patients, doctors and select family members only. If you want to go back there, you'll need a visitors pass."

It was obvious that these precautions had sprung up only recently because the Medi-witch looked unsure as if she should really be enforcing rules she wasn't entirely clear on.

The woman smiled, a false, sugary smile, in reply (few onlookers were eerily reminded of a particularly nasty, frog-like woman, whom had graced the magazines more then a few times in the past three years...). "Of course. How could I have been so irregardless to the rules. I just put my pass in my purse..." She pulled a miniature purse out of her bag, opened it, and peered inside... "The trouble with Extension Charms, is that nothing stay's organized," she said in a half-hearted attempt to distract the Medi-Witch, who merely sighed in return. "Ah here it is. She pulled out her wand and silently placed a full body bind curse on the Witch within seconds. The witch fell forward and the woman grabbed her in her arms. No one had seen this transaction take place, but to be safe, in a large, over-exaggerated voice, she added, "There, there. He'll be quite alright – you worry to much. Here, let's go this way..."

She pushed the Medi-Witch in front of her, and through the doors; however, the body was quickly discarded in a storage room to her immediate left, which was full of vibrantly colored potions in small, single-sized doses. The woman paused for a moment, examining the room. Seeing a few potions that could just come in handy in the future, she grabbed them and stuffed them in her purse.

She left the closet and locked it behind her, then she proceeded to walk down the hall. The walls were painted white, but were lined with numerous paintings of old wizards who described particularly nasty injuries – she merely smiled in return. At the end of the hall, was another hall leading directly to the right and left. She did not turn, instead she tapped a lift, which had been recently installed into the hospital, with her wand and the gate swung open, beckoning her into the large space. She was soon locked in and in a clear voice told it to go to the Forth Floor. "For Spell Damage," she had added.

The lift began to rise – slowly at first, but it began to pick up speed. However, almost as quick as the movement had started, it stopped. It was rather abrupt – enough to send a jolt through any normal person's spine, and in turn cause them to stagger out of the lift.

But the woman, who had remained abnormally still through out the ride, did not quiver. At once the gates swung open again and a womanly voice coming from no distinct area told her that they had arrived on the fourth floor.

But she did not hear this as she was already a few paces down a particularly gruesome, and somehow nebulous, corridor. Every moment there was at least one scream thundering from the rooms surrounding the bare white walls of the hallway that seemed to continue on forever. The paintings on the wall were mostly empty, but the few people who were stuck there were groaning miserably. At first she smiled but suddenly deciding that that was not appropriate, she drew her mouth into a thin line.

She passed by multiple door ways, and paused, if only for a moment, to read the plaque next to the entrance. It took her a few doors, but at last she had found the room that was satisfactory to her. The plaque next to the door, which had been magicked to show the last name of the current patient in that room, now read, _413: SAWYER, BULSTRODE, WEASLEY_...

The door was not ajar when she had arrived, yet still it pushed right open and she took a step inside.

The first patient was wrapped up tightly in bandages, which gave the generally effect of a mummy. She continued on to the next division of the room, where a nasty looking boy had a few extra arms protruding from his body.

The last section was not nearly as interesting a sight. A red-headed man of about 19 was laying in the white cotton sheets, silently sleeping.

She walked to the side of the bed and stroked his hair slightly, and then sat next to him. It was then that she showed even a hint of genuine wariness. But it only lasted for a half of a second before she regained her own composure. "Hello, blood traitor," she said, watching his unmoving form. And then apologetically continued, "I'm sorry. I meant _Weasley_. Forgot saying that was no longer politically _correct_."

She stood up, her black cloak, which had momentarily bunched up, fell to the floor. Grabbing the top corner of Ron's sheets, she peeled them back to reveal the boy's semi-naked body: covered only by a rather basic slip that the hospital had provided. "_Damn_," she muttered, and recovered him.

She looked around the room for a moment before she noticed a cabinet in the far corner. She crossed over and opened it, peering inside. Underneath the shelves of potions and intricate instruments, was a box labeled _Weasley, Ronald._ She pulled it out and saw that his clothes had been neatly folded and placed, along with his possessions. She checked the pockets of his jeans first – but found nothing. Of course, what she _was_ looking for was coiled up in a small plastic box within the first box. She picked it out and opened it up, seeing a gold necklace that legally belonged to no one in the hospital.

A bed creaked and a body shifted in it's sleep. She slowly pivoted to see that the weasel was groaning, and had his eyes covered with his hands. "What in Merlin's beard..." she heard him mutter.

She put her pale fingers on the gold of the necklace and smiled. She snatched it up, and place it into her purse, right next to the stolen vials.

The box was returned to the cabinet, the cabinet doors quickly shut, before she began to make her way out of that section but a voice told her to stop.

She froze in her place – not out of fear, but out of interest. She looked back around at the boy who had since began sitting himself up. His eyes had adjusted to the light, and he looked at her with a naive interest. "Um, who are you?" He asked.

She shifted around, thrusting her chest out further and put on as charming a voice as she could. "Oh _Ronny_. Why, I'm the one who put you here!" She gave a nasty, giggly laugh and strutted out of the room.

But the Weasley, being a boy, had not heard a word she had said, for his eyes were fixed upon her swaying ass as she left the room.

She was not the only visitor that Ron would have that day, for hours later Hermione and Charlie had shown up to check up on him. They had arrived, timidly, obviously uncomfortable by their surroundings. It had been a partially jubilant reunion; one, because the two visitors had walked in on Ron reading which led to one of them shrieking in delight, and two, because Ron, of course, had woken up from his slight spell-induced coma.

"Oh Ron!" Hermione exclaimed, and followed that with a big hug. "I've been terribly worried about you! How are you doing?"

"Oh, er – well I'm fine, I suppose."

"I've been s-so worried, like I just said. I'm glad you're better – really, really glad."

"Yeah, so am I. Hey Charlie." Ron smiled at his older brother who in turn gave him a large grin.

"Hello! How has St. Mungo's been treating you?"

"Oh, it's been rather boring – or so I imagine. I've been out for the past... er... how long have I been here?" He looked rather confused for a moment, before Hermione interjected.

"Oh, you've been here two days."

He looked disposed for a moment then shrugged. "Ah well, it's certainly been a blur. Although I kind of wish that you two were my first visitors..."

Hermione and Charlie gave eat other a cautious glance and Hermione looked back at the boy she was certain she loved, "But... we are."

"No, there was a really pre-a woman who was in here earlier. Don't know who she was, but she said something about me being here... I don't know." Ron shrugged it off, but it remained on Hermione's conscience.

"I suppose she could have just been visiting one of your other room-mates and accidentally walked into your section.

"I suppose," but he didn't say it with much conviction so the conversation fell flat and they all suddenly became quite interested in the floor.

"So, how's Harry?" Ron asked quietly after they had become quite uncomfortable.

Hermione sighed, and Charlie answered for her. "He's fine."

"That's good..."

"Yeah."

Hermione knew that Ron was never mad at Harry for breaking up with Ginny, but whether or not he'd fess up to this, was a different matter. Still, she let the question slide and continued on with her visit. No one brought up Harry again.

* * *

Well, it seems that it will become a running theme for me to recommend music to you, as it's inspired me so much. It's almost impossible for me to write without the right music, as it has to be catchy but not to distracting. This time, for me, it was a b-side by Kylie Minogue called "Mighty Rivers" (and, well... most of her album _Aphrodite_ as well).

If you'd like to recommend me writing music, that would be awesome.

Anyways, I had a _huge_ virus scare this weekend, in which I thought I lost everything. I didn't. Still have the chapter plan, so that's a yay!

This is un-beta'd like a lot. I usually go back through and edit stuff myself, but I didn't do it much this time, so if you see any glaring mistakes, please, please tell me!

Review, and such...  
Much Love, KAI

p.s. I sketched and edited a cover for this story, link on my profile.


	6. The Fire, Pt 1

**The Fire  
**By Kai

* * *

_Chapter Six: The Fire Pt. 1_

Charlie yawned. It was true that he wasn't getting much sleep anymore: what little time he had to rest had now become devoted to thinking about what was going to happen next. He stumbled into the tiny little cottage, and shielded his eyes for a moment, allowing them to readjust to the bright lights within.

_Electricity_, he thought, _was very useful and easy_. Many wizards had a problem accepting Muggle things like electricity, however it was something Charlie didn't mind. When he didn't have to focus on conjuring magic from within, and just wanted to be lazy, it was a simple way to accomplish the same result.

He shut the door behind him and walked through the short hall, taking off his shoes and dropping them as he went. He saw Harry sprawled across the couch, half asleep with an edition of _The Quiddich Digest _laying across his chest. He smiled warily and crossed the room, shifting Harry's legs so he could sit on the couch.

Groggily, Harry opened his eyes and mumbled, "How was Ron?"

Charlie sighed, "He's fine."

"Good."

"Yeah."

A beat. "How were the dragons in my absence?"

"Oh, they're fine. Fyre's starting to be a little brat, and of course Norberta just gave birth to Dolores, so we've all been keeping an eye on her. She seems to have taken a liking to Dennis who couldn't be more mortified. Um... oh well Hannah found a nice Romanian man, and they went on a date a few hours ago. Of course, she couldn't understand a word that he said so, some magic _was_ involved..." Harry grinned. "But all in all my evening was rather uneventful." He glanced out the window and into the dark night sky. "What time is it?"

"Almost twelve?"

"God, three hours till I have to get up again. This job has the worst hours."

"You know it."

They both sighed and let themselves sink a bit further into the couch. It was comfortable at first, but then a malevolent air infiltrated them and their thoughts changed.

"So The Dark One, any news on him?"

"No. And it's killing me not knowing what he's after, or what he's doing, or where he is. I feel so helpless."

"I'll bet you twenty galleons that he's after me," Harry replied darkly.

"I – You know I don't have twenty galleons to bet." Charlie's half-hearted attempt at a joke reverberated off the walls and filled the space with unnecessary tension. "Look, I've been thinking. Harry, I know that _you_ don't want to be a leader, or even fight anymore. I don't blame you, I know what you've been through. But if you're not going to figh t, I will. Look Harry, during the Second Wizarding War I didn't fight – I just recruited. Where was I? Here, praying to God that you and my brothers and my sister and my family would be alright. But if whatever is coming next is going to culminate in something, I can't just stay out of it. Not this time. I need to be able to protect the people I love: my family... my friends... you." Charlie now sat at the edge of the couch, his body twisted and facing Harry, looking intently into the emerald eyes that gazed back at him with a silent anxiety. "I've already lost a brother, I don't want to lose anyone else."

"What if... What if you lose yourself?" Harry's voice was quiet and inconsistent. "What if you die. And what if all my friends die as well. Then I'll be the last one left. I don't want that. I want everyone to stay stuff and be-"

"Be WHAT? Guinea Pigs? Helpless? Just a mere speed bump on the road of this new power house?"

"Smart."

"Harry. That's _not_ smart. That is fucking stupid. I don't care if _you're_ going to fight. Be the coward, but I thought you were a Gryffindor who valued courage over all else. I thought you were better then that. You're not who I thought you were."

"Then, who did you think I was?"

"Someone."

"Someone?" Harry looked furious, and Charlie was doing everything to maintain composure. "Charlie, I've done this before! I FUCKING KILLED VOLDEMORT." Charlie did not flinch. "I'VE SURVIVED HIM, _TWICE_. I HAVE GIVEN SO MUCH THAT I DON'T WANT TO ASSOCIATE MYSELF WITH THIS KIND OF THING ANYMORE. I'M DONE. THAT IS WHAT I TOLD HERMIONE. THAT IS WHAT I'M TELLING YOU NOW. You know, you said it was fine – the choice I made... I am making. But you don't act like it is."

"Harry. I _do_ understand..."

"Save it." Harry got up from the couch and powered out of the house. Not even stopping to put on shoes or a shirt. He stalked off through the lukewarm night. He went to extract his wand but realized that he had also not grabbed this on his exit. To keep his dramatics in tact he decided that he didn't need it.

He walked through the forest and realized that he was making circles, so he decided to pay a visit to a little dragon that he had begun to grow fond of, Fyre. He realized, as he was walking, that Apparating without a wand was mighty difficult, and was most definitely not recommended.

Harry figured that now, was as good a time as any to attempt it. He closed his eyes, and pictured where he wanted to be, and how he wanted to arrive: fully intact. He saw himself being squeezed through that uncomfortable rubber tube and arriving on the other side, at the mouth of the mountain. He took a breath and allowed it to start...

...He was quite surprised to realize, that the only thing splinched in the process were a few odd hairs, that he could do without. He had never known exactly how much magic he possessed within him. He always figured it was just a fact that you had it or you didn't – not that there were levels. But he supposed their had to be – how else could he have explained the skill difference between Dumbledore and Neville...?

Harry stepped into the mouth of the cave and decided to try something else. "_Lumos._" Nothing. He closed his eyes and really willed the light to come, "_LUMOS!"_ Suddenly the dark cave illuminated completely: he could see further then he had ever seen before, and even certain other people from the Res could see that something was freaking bright...

He went through the "hidden" portal and found himself in the belly of the cave, where a large mother dragon slept. Next to her a much smaller dragon, named Fyre, was aimlessly pawing at the ground. Harry grinned and walked over to the little thing, the ball of light that he conjured, floating comfortably behind.

The light soon decided that they were going to be down here for a while so it rose to the top of the cave, and allowed Harry to see the entire room. He sat down next to the large dragon, carefully, as to not wake her, and gently stroked the baby dragon. Fyre opened his large green eyes and stared at the emerald eyed boy in front of him. He shuttered a bit and coughed up a few sparks, and Harry laughed. "You're adorable, aren't you?" He knew he shouldn't be playing favorites, but sometimes he just couldn't help it.

Fyre cocked his head as if to say that he knew something was wrong.

Harry sighed and continued on stroking the small dragon. "Things aren't going the way I want them too. There's this guy who... well you know him. Charlie?" The dragon blinked. "Well he's been really nice to me – extra nice, actually. And I uh... I don't know what it is between us but there's _something_ and it's kind of scaring me. And there's this dark wizard that's on the rise. And normally I'd be scared – well I am. I'm _really_ scared... But what I mean is that I'm not as scared of this _thing_ as I was Voldemort, because well... I don't really think this _thing_ is after _me_...just, something." Harry sighed. "I can't believe I'm talking to a dragon..."

Fyre breathed a little cackle of sparks at him.

"Bloody hell, Fyre. What are we going to do with you?" Harry gave a half laugh. "Anyways, what should I do?"

No response, just breathing.

"I don't know either." Harry sighed and closed his eyes, allowing himself to rest a moment. There was a soft _clunk_ but he didn't bother to look. "Then what should I do about Charlie?"

"What do you mean, 'What should you do about Charlie?'"

For a second Harry thought that Fyre had responded to him, his voice rather similar to someone else that Harry knew, but when he opened his eyes he noticed that Charlie was standing at the spot where Harry to had just appeared and was looking, calmly, intently, and questioningly at Harry.

Harry froze. He could feel the warmth from his light, and the slow breathing of the dragon he was leaning on. "How did you find me?"

"Wasn't to hard to guess, plus that large amount of light coming out of this mountain kind of clued me in. Harry, you're really powerful. You did that _without _a wand... and I'm assuming you Apparated without a wand, also. That's like really advanced magic."

"Thanks."

The paused, then Charlie took a step forward and repeated himself. "Harry, what do you mean about what you said?"

"I, um... Nothing."

"Am I bothering you? Am I doing something wrong, or what?"

"No, no, it's not that..."

"Then what is it? I thought we were friends."

"We _are_ friends."

"Then what? You can tell me _anything,_ you know..." Nothing. "_Is_ there something you wish to tell me?"

For a second Harry remembered Dumbledore, and how he had asked him that very same question, and although Harry _did_ have something to tell, he didn't say a word. So he looked at Charlie and opened his mouth. He couldn't speak at first, but then slowly, word by word, it came out. "I... Charlie. It's just that, I don't know how to be."

"What does that mean?"

"I like you."

"I like you too."

Harry hastily added, "I mean, I think I _really_ like you. I don't know what that means, and I don't know how you, or I, feel about it. But I think I do... like that I like you. And I'm not sure if it's because I dated your sister before, or if it's just you. I..."

Charlie did not respond, and for those two and a half seconds, Harry felt like it was the end of the world. He had never felt this terrible about himself since... well... probably Cho. Then the red head opened his mouth and closed it. And opened it again. And then closed it. And then with a determination that was almost alien to him, he took a few steps forward, and another. And..._oh god_, Harry thought, _he's coming straight towards me! He's going to attack me. Oh shit, shit, shit..._ Harry closed his eyes and waited for the worst.

But the blow that Harry was expecting did not come. Instead a pair of soft lips pressed themselves against his in an uncertain manner. Harry could not move. He was terrified and ecstatic at both the same time.

And then the lips broke away.

"I like you," Charlie repeated. "I hope you still like me."

"I... I think I do."

"Good." Charlie smiled at the younger man. "Um... Harry our rounds start in just a few hours. Why don't we stay down here?"

"Alright."

Charlie, who had bent down to kiss Harry, retreated.

"Harry, I'm sorry for what I said earlier. I didn't mean it. It just came out."

"It, uh... that's okay. I forgive you."

"Thanks."

Charlie flipped over, and leaned back against the dragon as Harry was doing. He put his hand on Harry's leg and the other boy cautiously grabbed hold of it...

* * *

So sorry that that chapter took longer then usual! I got caught up in the pre-break mess. But I _do_ have winter break soon, so hopefully you'll get a few more chapters then!

I hated the idea of this chapter for a long time, but then when I wrote it, it turned out so much better! I hope you enjoyed it. This chapters actually a little bit longer then usual, so yay me! As always, it remains un-beta'd.

This chapter was written to _The Best of_ Nelly Furtado, and select songs from Emily Osment's _Fight or Flight_.

Review and such!  
Much love... KAI

p.s. SpringCherryBlossom, did you notice I slipped Norberta in? It's funny, I totally forgot about her... erm, what I meant to say, was that I totally planned that. It's in my notes, see? Yep, Norberta has a child now... *coughs*


	7. The Storm

**The Fire  
**By Kai

* * *

_Chapter Seven: The Storm_

Ron sat on the beach, wearing nothing and looking into the glittering water. The sky was a perfect shade of blue and he felt like he was on a post card. In fact, was that, over there, the words _Visit the Carribean Islands!_?

Sure enough, in the distance, in large, floating, friendly white letters, was that phrase exactly. He sighed and looked around him. The beach was fully populated with people – all of them naked. But no one seemed to care, hell he didn't even care. There were people of all shapes, all sizes, all ages playing in the sand and in the water.

Next to him was a familiar woman whom he loved. Her brown hair was pulled back into a pony tail and her pale skin was slowly tanning under the bright sun.

He took a sip of a drink that he had in his hand, and then he noticed that in the horizon, a storm was brewing. He stood up, and his pink drink with an umbrella dropped to the ground in slow motion. The plastic cup exploded and it's contents went everywhere, but he didn't notice. He shaded his eyes to the sun, and looked at the dark clouds. They seemed to be readily approaching.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked, looking up from her book.

"I think that I see a storm over in the distance."

"Don't be silly, that's just a swarm of Dementors."

"Oh." Ron thought for a moment, and decided that he must have been crazy. "Yeah, you're right."

He took a sip of his drink. But something _was _wrong. Ron could feel it in his intuition. He looked at his drink – it was now Lemonade. He sighed and sat back down in the beach chair, and set down his drink. He put a hand on his stomach and closed his eyes...

He was walking through Hogsmeade. It was night time, and the shops were all closed. He could see the magnificent castle in the distance. The full moon cast a glow on it and he thought he heard a howl in the distance.

He took a sharp turn and his robes flung around him. He felt light – or at least, lighter then usual. He was walking to the door of the home that he did not recognize. It was at the outskirts of Hogsmeade and there was a faint glow of light coming through the windows. There was a lot of barking.

The door opened before he reached it and an old lady peered outside. She had thin curly white hair, rosy cheeks and a large brooch depicting an ivory dog. Her back was hunched and a sour expression was plastered to her face. She beckoned Ron inside.

"Your room is ready, Miss."

"Yes, thank you Mopsy. You may go."

The old lady walked to the couch, in a trance, and Ron walked upstairs, and made his way into a small bedroom that was crammed with furniture and miss-matching dog quilts. Ron made his way to the bathroom, and a light came on. He looked into the mirror and he was suddenly quite aware that he was a beautiful woman... One that he recognized.

His reflection looked back at him and she opened her mouth. "Ronald Weasley." It was calm, controlled, smooth. "You recognize me, don't you. I'm the one who put you where you are right _now_. And I suppose if you're seeing this, I'm not to far from you."

Ron wanted to ask what she was doing, but he realized that he was not even there, he was just seeing things through her eyes.

"I'm here to tell you what I'm after. _Harry Potter_. Why, you ask? Well, because he's the goal, isn't he? So why am I telling you? So you can warn him, because what fun is a fight, if he's not even fighting?"

Ron wanted to scream at her to stop, but he didn't need to as the soon was quickly fading and she was grinning. Her reflection was first to go. He was falling backwards...

His eyes shot opened and he looked around the dark hospital room, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. He was breathing heavily. He sat up and used his hand to grope the table next to him for his wand. He conjured a happy memory, his first kiss with Hermione, and casted a Patronus. The familiar silver Jack Russell Terrier shot out of his wand and stood on his bed, looking expectantly at him. "Go to Hermione, and tell her that someone's trying to get into my head."

The animal nodded and galloped away. He set his wand back on the table, and laid back down on the pillows, exhaling slowly. It was no use, for he wasn't going to be getting any more sleep that night.

It was ironic that only a few hours later, Harry was also having a set of particularly vivid hallucinations. It was the night after the one that he had spent with Charlie and Fyre in the cave, and it had started with a headache. Harry was no stranger to the sensation, as he had had them all the time when Voldemort was coming to power, but he hadn't had one since his defeat.

Until now.

He thought maybe, if he simply sat down and stayed very still, that it would go away. But it didn't change anything. In fact, it seemed to be getting worse. He wanted to scream, but when he opened his mouth, no sound came out. His hands were clenched to his forehead and sweat was trickling down his head.

And maybe... did he feel a tear?

He was glad that he was alone at that very moment, because he couldn't bare it if anyone saw him. He tried to take deep breaths, but it was getting worse. The sensation was filling his head, and stretching outwards, consuming him whole. It was worse then Apparating, using a port-key, and experiencing the Dementors kiss, all at once because not only did he hurt physically, he couldn't think and he could barely move.

The one perk, was that emotionally, he was fine. Confused and angry, sure, but he was fine.

It was at that calculation of his feelings that he got the eerie sense that he was walking. He couldn't see anything for sure, and he was confident that it was _not_ dream. But he was walking. He slowly opened his eyes, and it was still dark – except... except, he could make out the outline of his feet taking slow and cautious steps down a cold, black street. It was familiar, but as he looked around, he realized it was completely empty. It looked as if it was a ghost town, and he was a tourist waiting to be scared.

But here, in Godric's Hollow, Harry saw now ghosts.

Charlie had noticed that Fyre had grown. It was about time anyways, but when he had made his morning round he realized that he was no longer dealing with a small, young dragon. Even still, Fyre had grown much bigger then Charlie expected. It was normal for a young dragon to have at least one growth spurt, but this was ridiculous. Even in the dragons sleep, the beast was moaning in pain. Charlie grinned at the prospect of telling Harry the news. After he finished what he had to do in there, he went out to go tell Harry who, at this time, should be in the mountain over...

A small grey owl that Charlie recognized as Pigwidgeon flew towards him, with a letter attached to its foot. The bird landed on his shoulder and pecked his neck. "Yes, hi Pigwidgeon... Yeah, I see the letter. For me? Alright."

Charlie untied the letter and looked at it, it was addressed to _Harry (or Charlie, whomever gets this first)_. He opened it and began to read.

_Dear Harry (and Charlie),_

_ It is necessary that I tell you what happened to Ron a few hours ago, in the hospital. I know that this isn't something that should be sent by owl post for fear of it being intercepted, but as it is urgent, and I don't want to leave Ron's side, this is my only option._

_ When Ron was dreaming, he was suddenly brought a vision by a woman. But like how you (Harry) _was_ the snake back in the fifth year, he _was_ the woman. She told him that she was after you (Harry) because you (Harry) are the "goal." But when I got to Ron, he also told me that _she_ was the woman who had visited him earlier in the hospital, and that she had told him that she put him there. He didn't tell us (me and Charlie) when we visited because he wasn't sure of himself, but now he is. _

_ Look Harry, I think Ron was a victim of Legilimancy, which means that _she_ was near him at the time because he doesn't have a connection with her like you had a connection with Voldemort. _

_ I think it's time that we meet up; I think it's time that we build The New Order; I think it's time we take action, because there is a storm in the horizon, and it's quickly approaching._

_ Please, Harry (and Charlie), please be careful. For my sake, and Ron's._

_My love,_

_Hermione_

_P.s. I am moving Ron back to the Burrow. If you want to contact us, you know where._

Charlie stuffed the letter back into his pocket and told the owl that he'd reply as soon as he could. The bird hooted and flew away. He took a breath and went to look for Harry...

The windows of the shops of Godric's Hollow were filled with clocks that ticked counter clockwise. There was a woman screaming – it sounded like his mother, "Haaaaaaaaarry!" But it was distant this time... and it was Professor Trelawney. The crazy bug like woman was standing at the end of the street dressed in various layers of shawls and beads. Her eyes were misty and her hands out streached. "WHEN THIRTEEN DINE, THE FIRST TO RISE WILL BE THE FIRST TO..."

The scene whirled around him and he was in another dark and uninviting place. Students marched around him, but their faces were blank. He was marching too, marching with Trelawney. She guided him into a large mess hall where people were attacking each other and fading into nothing. "THE YOUNGEST OF THEM ALL, WILL BE THE FIRST OF THEM TO FALL!" She cackled as a net dropped from the ceiling, containing Harry and Charlie. But Harry was _outside_ of the net, so maybe that was a different Harry? A clone? Harry ran up to himself, and his partner but their flesh began to melt and bits and pieces of body parts began to fuse together...

_BAM! _Durmstang morphed into the glittering streets that stretched for a long distance, leading up to the ever-eloquent Bouxbatons.

Birds flew over Harry's head, chirping... he was growing dizzy. The semi-fraudulent seer stepped out of the shadows to offer up a prophecy he had heard before, "I CAN SEE THE GRIM..."

Harry was falling off of the Divination tower. He could see a woman standing at the window... had she pushed him out? "IF THE SUN'S NOT RISEN YET, A DAY OF NOTHING WILL SOON RESET."

She walked away, into her class room.

Harry was still falling.

But suddenly, the sensation went away, and everything went black...

"Oh Merlin's beard, Harry – are you alright? Please be alright, please be alright..." Charlie was bent over the body of the raven-haired boy, surrounded by forest. He pressed an ear to the boy's chest and listened... there was a pulse. It was feint, but it was there. "You'll be fine. You'll be fine." He sent up some distress sparks with his wand, and conjured a stretcher for Harry.

"What's wrong Charlie?" Asked Hannah as she appeared only a few feet away.

"It's Harry. Something's wrong with him. I found him lying on the ground, passed out. What do I do?"

"Well, the first thing you need to do is to calm down..."

* * *

Well that was exciting! This is probably the easiest chapter to write so far. I also really like it, but I hope it didn't confuse you guys to much...

What does this all mean? I don't know. As usual, un-beta'd.

Music wise... well I wrote most of this in silence as I was rushing to get it out. You'd think that on break you'd have a lot more time for this sort of thing. Turns out, you don't.

Happy Holidays, aka MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Review and stuff...  
Much Love, Kai


	8. Number Twelve

**The Fire  
**By Kai

* * *

_Chapter Eight: Number Twelve_

Darkness. That was the first thought that entered Harry's mind.

The second was that his eyes were closed. He made an attempt to open them, but even the dim room that he was in caused him to quickly shut them. He allowed himself a moment to get accustomed to his body, taking inventory. Legs? Check. Arms? Check. Fully functional brain? Sure...

He took another stab at the whole seeing thing, and parted his eye lids, just a bit. He squinted for a moment, and slowly he became more comfortable with his sight. It wasn't to long before Harry was alert and taking a gander around the room. It was familiar... a place he'd been in before.

The walls were covered in what looked to be fresh dark blue paint, and he was laying on thin bed. Next to him in an arm chair was a person who was breathing slowly and steadily. He didn't dare look in that direction, instead he closed his eyes again.

He felt cold. He couldn't tell why, for as far as he knew he had several quilts pulled up to his chin and a compress on his forehead... He exhaled and removed the cloth – it was damp and cool and he realized that it must have been hot at one time, but had released it's heat over the course of his unconciousness. He dropped it on the floor, and in the process the slow breathing from next to him stopped, and then it was louder this time. There was a little yawn, and the person adjusted themselves in the chair but then groaned. "Ow... shit, Merlin's beard that hurts..."

"Ron?" Harry asked. He turned his head and saw that, indeed, Ron was sitting in a large, overstuffed arm chair with some bandages on his arms, and looking tired, but all in all quite well.

"Harry? Ah, you've come too I see... How are you feeling?"

There was a sense of resentment between the two. "Fine," Harry lied. In actuality his head still hurt, and his body was sore.

"That's great, mate."

"Yeah... er... How'r you?"

"I could be better... but than again I suppose I could be a lot worse."

"Yeah, I know the feeling."

The two fell silent, and avoided each other's gazes. Suddenly, Harry could hear yelling from elsewhere in the building. "WHY SHOULDN'T HE STAY HERE?" A man.

"IT'S NOT SAFE HERE, WE SHOULDN'T EVEN BE HERE NOW!" This time, a woman.

"WELL, WHERE IS HE SAFE? IF HE'S NOT SAFE HERE, THEN HE'S GOT NO WHERE ELSE. MA, HE CAN'T GO BACK HOME, HE DOESN'T HAVE ONE! AND SINCE HE COLLAPSED, I DON'T THINK THE RESERVATION IS SAFE _EITHER_!" The same man.

"WELL, HE COULD COME HOME WITH US."

"AND HOW SAFE IS HE THERE? REALLY, THE TRUTH... BECAUSE LAST I CHECKED THE BIGGEST FUCKING ENCHANT-"

"HOW _DARE_ YOU TALK TO ME LIKE TH-"

"YOU TWO," A voice boomed, and the woman fell silent. "There is no need to be yelling about this..."

The voices got quieter, and number. Ron's face was red and Harry looked at him questioningly. Ron shrugged. "That'll be Charlie and Mum arguing about where's the best place for you. They can't decide if this place is still safe – I mean, they know it's not... not _really_, but they could make it safe. But then there's the burrow, and we'd be crammed there... and you could go back the Res, but they think you were attacked there so they don't want that. Then there's Godric's Hollow... but I don't see how that's safe at all, so that seems kind of pointless... same as Private Place, or whatever it's called."

Harry took stock of what his friend had just spurted, and then asked, "But... where _are _we?"

"Your joking."

"No..."

"Harry, it's Grimmauld Place... I don't know how you don't recognize it. You must have bumped your head pretty hard on the fall."

Harry realized his head hurt, and he groaned.

"That was... a joke." Ron's voice trailed off, and his interest in how the bandages were wrapped around his arm piqued. The silence had become uncomfortable, but it was quickly cut...

_CLANG!_ "OH SHIT!"

"GINNY, DO NOT USE THAT LANGUAGE!" Mrs. Weasley scolded.

And than, "WHAT IS ALL THIS _YELLING_! FILTHY MUDBLOODS... WHY I OUGHTTA GET KREATURE IN HERE RIGHT _NOW_ AND..."

"YOU WRETCHED PORTRAIT, **SHUT UP**!" The sound of breaking objects filled the home...

"... BLOOD TRAITORS! **BLOOOOOOD TRAITORS**! STOP TOUCHING ME!" The blood curling screams reached the two men, and they shrank back into their respective pieces of furniture.

"Look, Harry. I'm sorry for how I treated you when you and Ginny broke up. It was just... she's my sister, you know?"

There was a stampede of people running up the stairs to attack the portrait, or at least find a way to shut it up. "BITCH! **CUNT**! AHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"Yeah... wellno, not really, but I get the idea. It's okay."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Thank Merlin, cause I've been feeling really guilty about that... and now you and Char-"

"YOU SCUM, YOU'LL NEVER REMOVE ME. HA HA!"

"AVADA-"

"CHARLIE! YOU CAN'T KILL A PORTRAIT."

"YOU WEAKLINGS! UNFIT TO EVEN STEP FOOT IN THIS HOUSE HOLD! DISGUSTING..."

Harry had heard Ron's comment about Charlie, but pretended he hadn't. "Huh?"

"Oh... Never mind." Ron deflated – but then perked back up again. "Oh, Harry. I have to tell you..."

"What?"

"Well, alright. So when I was in St. Mungo's..." Ron proceeded to report to Harry about The Dark Lady ("She's a _she_ Harry, I mean... Imagine that? What if that was Hermione, we'd all be doomed...") and how she had gotten inside his head. "...And she told me that she was after you because you were the goal... or something like that."

"The goal? What am I, a video game?"

"FAGOT, FAGOT!"

"KINGSLEY, DO SOMETHING ABOUT HER – I'M BEGGING YOU!"

"I dunno mate. But it's freaky, I mean first... You-Know-Who, and then _her_. It's like it's never going to end. You're gonna be the 'goal' forever until your dead."

"Thanks, that really made me feel better."

"You know what I mean."

"Sure."

"I worry for ya mate..."

"FILTH, FILTH, _FILTH_!"

"Well don't, because I'm not going to fight her."

"What?"

"I'm done. I'm so sick of this, I don't want to fight anymore. I just want it to all be over."

"But-" Harry shot Ron a glare, and his best friend fell back. "I understand, but sometimes you gotta do what you don't want to do... compromise."

"Compromise my life? I want to find someone and settle down and do something normal. You, you've already got someone! Hermione! And bloody hell Ron, you two are getting _married_! As much as it pains me to say, I want that."

Underneath, Ron was gloating that he had _finally_ had something that Harry wanted... "I'm sorry."

"AYAYAYAYAY! STAINS OF FILTH! IMPURITY! TRAITOR!"

"It's alright, it's just... hard. Hard finding someone you want to be that close to."

"Harry, you're like a bloody celebrity! You could get anyone you wanted!"

"But I don't want to spend my life with just anyone, I want to spend my life with-" Harry stopped himself and Ron shot him a look. Harry shook his his head and realized he was sitting half way up, with his arm under his body for support. He collapsed back on the bed just as...

"IT SHOULD BE A SIN! YOU'LL ALL GO TO _HELL_! HELL I TELL YOU!" Walburga's latest insult ricocheted through the room as the door burst open and Mrs. Weasley peaked through.

"Ron, could you be a dear and help me? Oh, Harry – you're up! I hope you're well?"

"Er yeah... should I help too?"

"No, no... you rest. You've just been out for a few hours – no, you stay. Ron, come on!"

"But mum, I'm hurt as _well_..."

"Oh suck it up."

The Weasley huffed and made a show of standing up from his chair, and grabbing his wand from beside him.

"Harry dear, I'll bring up some soup as soon as I can. Ron, I think if we all put our magic together we can get that cu-woman to shut up," she said as she ushered the boy out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

There was a lot of commotion, but it all felt very far away. Harry closed his eyes for a moment and Charlie flashed through his mind. He exhaled and smiled – he didn't know what they were as a relationship but at the same time he didn't care. Happiness bubbled underneath his skin and longed to break free, but he didn't want to be rash.

He liked Charlie, that was for sure , but... But he had dated his sister, and wasn't that weird? But Charlie was seven years older than him, what if people asked questions? But he wasn't even sure he was gay – so was this just a fluke? Was he experimenting with his sexuality?

It took a moment for him to realize that the portrait of Sirius's mum had stopped shrieking. He sighed in relief, and the door opened. He looked up to see Charlie slipping in. The red head gave him a grin and shut the door, softly. "Hey, Ron told me you were up. You good?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Good." He made a large effort to cross the room without making noise, and positioned himself in the arm chair that Ron had vacated. Harry game him a questioning look. "Don't want to wake up the mother from hell," he answered.

"Ah." Harry tore the covers off of his body, revealing his tanned chest, and a pair of large plaid pajama bottoms that were clearly not his. He sat up, moved closer to Charlie, sitting himself partially on the older man's lap, and partially on the chair. "I can think of a way to shut you up."

"Really?" Charlie whispered back.

Harry bent down from his position and gave Charlie a kiss on his forehead. The Weasley closed his eyes, and then Harry kissed him on his cheek bone. And then on his ear. And then on his neck. And finally on his mouth.

Charlie gave a low moan and pressed his tongue to Harry's lips eager to explore. Harry gave access, and their two tongues meshed together, in a hot, eager passion. Harry's knees found themselves on each side of Charlie's legs, and he felt the man's hands caressing his back, making their way to his arse.

In one swift motion, Charlie stood up with Harry in his arms – still kissing him senselessly – and placed him back on the bed. "You're supposed to be getting bed rest..." he managed when they finally separated.

Harry looked up into Charlie's gorgeous blue eyes. "Whatever," he replied before going in for another kiss. He liked this part: the kissing. It was much less wet than with Cho, but much more interesting than with Ginny. He felt his own heart begin to flutter a bit.

Foot steps, just outside the door. Neither wanted to separate, but the knob was turning...

Charlie launched backwards and landed in the chair just as the door burst open and Mrs. Weasley marched in with a tray with soup on it. "Here's your soup dear."

"Thanks Mrs. Weasley."

It might have just been the secrecy of it all that appealed most to Harry. He liked being with Charlie, but it was a bit exciting to not tell anyone. _In time_, he thought as he glanced at Charlie, seeing the man's wild eyes. Harry smiled to himself, and took a sip of soup, allowing it to fill him with warmth.

"How is it Harry dear?"

"Excelent."

"I'm glad, do you need anything else?"

"No, thanks though. This is great."

"If you need more, don't be afraid to ask." She turned towards the man next to him, and her tone changed, "Charlie come on, we have more to discuss."

"Alright." Charlie stood up, and gave a parting glance at Harry, and grinned. He seemed to be saying, _I can't wait to do this again_.

If that was in fact, what he _had_ said, then Harry would be quick to concur.

* * *

Longest chapter yet, woohoo! I realize that the relationship and it's progression here really takes a back seat to the plot. Don't worry, that should be totally opposite when I write the sequel (the plot will take a back seat to the relationship...!).

I hope you didn't find Walburga's interjections to confusing, I just _had_ to keep doing it as I find her positively _delightful... _/sarcasm. As usual, it's un-beta'd.

Sorry it took so long, but I didn't get any reviews for the last chapter so I was feeling a bit uninspired... Remember kids, reviews are like brownie points, the more you give, the cooler you are!

Thanks for those who _did_ review! As for you who haven't... *shameful glare*.

Haha, alright.  
Much love (and belated Holiday wishes!), KAI

P.s. I made a snow man today, which is pretty exciting since there hasn't been enough snow to make one here (in North Carolina) since... well, for a long time!

P.p.s. I listened to the HURTS song, _Better Than Love_, quiet a bit while writing this. It's the best song off their ironically titled album, "Happiness."

P.p.p.s. It occurs to me now, as I revise it in the document editor, that this story is already longer then my NaNo Novel from this year, how sad...


	9. The New Order

**The Fire  
**By Kai

* * *

_Chapter Nine: The New Order_

"I'd like to bring to order The New...er...Order of the Phoenix," _BANG!_ The gavel made impact and everyone in the room jumped. Hermione looked quite flustered behind a conjured wooden podium, her hair unleashed. She made a visible effort to look in control, but the remains of a youthful demeanor still populated her actions. "Em... well. You know why were all here. Since the demise of Voldemort – Ron stop being an idiot – we thought we were safe. Apparently, there's a new incoming battle that awaits us. The commander of the opposing... er, _army_, I suppose, is none other then the Dark Lady-"

"Can't she have thought of a more original name?" Seamus asked, and a little titter went through the crowd.

"Seamus, it was assigned by the public. If you want to give her a more original name, you come up with one," Hermione snapped. "Anyways, we've got her to worry about, and I think we need to make some plans. First, though... I think it's appropriate that we all just..." She produced a piece of parchment and the few DA members in the room groaned. "Sign this. So we can have a list of all the people here... and er. Well... it's been enchanted too." She signed it at the top with her own quill and passed it to Harry who was seated next to her. It was no surprise they felt as if they had just signed a contract... "Here, and then pass it to Ron and you pass it to Neville and so on..." She adjusted her weight – it was clear that her skills at public speaking had not increased. She paused, watching the parchment circulate the room for a moment before returning... "First order of business, I think we should discuss safety plans, I think it's time we find a new headquar-"

"I think we should discuss a safety plan," Charlie ejaculated.

"...and maybe a battle plan, while we're at it? You know I was thinking-"

"We'll get there!" Hermione exclaimed, cutting Oliver off mid-sentence. "As you probably know, Number Twelve isn't the safest place to have us here. I feel... we need to find a new home." She paused, and then scanning the room, she added, "Perhaps one with more room?"

Mrs. Weasley's hand, which had been in the air, slowly deflated and was back by her side.

"Suggestions?" No one spoke. "Perhaps we can build a place? One that's distant enough to be secluded, but not as far as Romania so we can be nearby when the battle starts – wherever that may be... Um. Safety plans, right. Well, I think Harry should return to the Reservation as soon as possible," quite a few hands shot in the air. "Er, yes, Harry?"

"Well, I had my weird vision, black out thing there, so what makes that place safe?" He looked awkward at her, as she was only a bit older than him.

"I er- well, you'll be surrounded by Dragons, and Charlie and the other rangers there... and it didn't seem like a case of Legilimency, so I'm not sure you were actually attacked. Possibly just blood rushing to your head? A bad migraine? Look Harry, it's probably not the best place to be, but it's really the only place to be."

"Yeah, and Harry, we could continue life like _normal_," Charlie added, with only a trace of a sexual undertone.

"But what about the _rest_ of us?" Seamus asked, "I mean, great Harry's safe... but what do we do? What do we tell other people to do?"

"What about a buddy system?" Katie Bell asked from her position on the floor, next to Angelina Johnson. "So like Ron and Hermione, Ginny and Dean, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley... etc. Just have someone who lives near you be with you at all times so you can get each others backs. Maybe even move in with each other, unless you've got a big enough _magical_ family around you to protect each other. I'd suggest more than just two people... but in certain cases, like Harry and Charlie, I suppose it's alright."

"That's a great idea," Hermione complimented. "Hagrid, when you return to Hogwarts – I don't suppose you could tell McGonigal to suggest that to students as well?"

"Alrigh'," he grunted.

"Anyways, keep your wands with you at all times... em, Dumbledore – do you have any ideas?"

The headmaster's portrait was hastily tacked to the wall with a simple spell, and was gazing at the room with a whimsical and distant expression on his face. "Might I suggest a Fidelius Charm on some of the residences?"

"Yes... quite right. That's a decent start. Alright, next order of business... a battle plan." Hermione was lost in thought for a moment before, "Well, I'm rather rubbish at this part, so Kingsley?"

The tall man stood up from his arm chair that had been moved to be off to Hermione's side, and walked up towards the Podium. "We need patrols around our major gathering areas... here, the burrow... possibly even in Romania."

Charlie coughed.

"Yes, Mr. Weasley?"

"Well... there are more than enough competent wizards at the Res, we can make an updated schedule to involve patrol hours... balance some of the work out."

"Alright then. Also, as head of the Auror department, I am going to allow my current Auror-in-training folk to start taking work, despite their junior status," he glanced at Ron and made a non-committal facial expression, "As this is not standard procedure, these jobs will count towards your time as a trainee. As they say, there's no better training than practice... or something like that. So, Ron, Dean, Seamus, Ginny, Dedalus, and Katie would you kindly meet me later for a discussion. Also I find it appropriate to reinstate the Advance Guard for use as an instant army. Ideally it would be all adults, and Aurors and advanced magic users, but as many of us are barely of age..." he scanned the room gloomily, "we must use who we can." Molly did not look pleased with this. "So all my Aurors (official and in training), _adults_, as well as George, Charlie, Bill, Fleur, Oliver, Angelina – we'll go over more about this later. Just wanted to let you guys know who you are. Objections?"

"Em? What about Harry?" Seamus asked.

"I want him out of harms way as possible." Then turning to Harry, "The Dark Lady want's _you_... that's what Ron's little vision said," Ron shifted uncomfortably, "So we'll keep you out of the way. As for everyone else, I'd like you to be recruitment." That left Hermione, Harry, Luna, and Neville. "You'll scour Hogwarts, the ministry, as well as other large places of the sort to find allies, test them, and recruit them. Neville, I understand you're going back to Hogwarts to assist Pomona?" He nodded. "Then you'll restart the... DA," his quick glance to the headmaster's portrait did not go unnoticed. "And Rubeus, will you update the teachers there on other going-ons?" The half-giant nodded. "Good. Questions?" There were none. "Alright, then I suppose that that's that... Hermione?"

"Yes, thank you Sha-_Kings_ley. Well now that we know what to do... let's, let's talk about the Dark Lady. Motives, appearance, details and what not. Ronald?"

The Weasley stood up and exchanged places with Hermione. "Em. Well, looks... she looks rather like _you_," he said pointing to Fleur. "Pale, blonde...female, quite attract-erm, she looks nice. Always seems to have an ironic smile. Looks good in black, of course _most_ people do..." he added glancing nervously at his girlfriend. "Anyways, she said she's after Harry because he's like a goal or something. Like all these people have tried and failed, and now she's trying to prove herself or something like that. Not quite sure. Em... that's about it, really. She's got a high voice... about your height I suppose," he said, this time acknowledging Luna, "Em. Looked quite youthful... not like baby but like... our age, ya' know? I'm not sure how powerful she is... but she must have done something right to get my hand so gruesome." He waved his hand in the air, but it was covered in bandages. "Anyways, that's all I know."

Everyone was quiet as they looked at one another, one single thought running through (most of) their minds... "So does mean... is she a... you know... Fleur?" Everyone looked at Luna, surprised that she was the one to vocalize this idea. "Like a Veela or part Veela?"

"I don't know, but it's a possibility," Kingsley answered.

"If dat is ze truth, vich it cood, be – do youz know 'ow Veela get ven dey are angree?" Fleur shuttered, looking around the room. It was clear that if Fleur was afraid of them, as a part of one herself, then there was something to be afraid of.

"What happens?" Dean asked, looking around.

"When a Veela, a full one, gets angry, then she turns quite monstrous and ugly and sprouts wings and attacks. She's quite vicious," Hermione this time, majorly paraphrasing a textbook entry.

"What if it's a he-Veela?"

"Dere is no such ting as a full he-Veela."

"Oh."

"Yes, but dere is one more ting, an angry Veela eez villing, and vill kill if she deems eet necessary."

When the meeting had come to an exasperated close, Hermione and Harry had retired to a room that was crammed full with furniture, awaiting the time that Ron would be finished with his meeting with the Aurors. "Look Harry, I just wanted to check if you were alright."

"I'm fine."

"That's good. Hey, Harry... I wanted to give you this. Em..." She handed him a fake Galleon. He sat on the ground, using the bed as a prop to lean against. "You've seen that before, obviously. I just thought... you know. If I needed to tell you something quickly – I could... I'm giving you a new one so you can communicate with me as well. The charm is really quite simple. You just tap the coin and say _Proteus_ and think really hard about you want to change it to... it's really just a two-way transfiguration thing, I suppose. Anyways, here, take it." She handed it to Harry, who accepted. "Try it out."

"Er..." he looked warily at the thing. He pulled his wand out of his pocket and tapped it. "_Proteus_." The serial numbers on the sides morphed into "HARRY POTTER."

"Great. It works. _Proteus_," and the lettering returned to normal. They shared a moment. "So, Harry."

"Yeah?"

"You and Charlie...?"

"What?"

"I think it's cute."

Harry sputtered and coughed. "What do you mean?"

"Don't be silly Harry, you've always been rubbish at hiding stuff like that from me. So, when did it all start?"

* * *

A short chapter, god damn it! I'm sorry. It just felt done... wasn't really more I could add to it, and it did what I wanted it to do. Sorry for the delay, was feeling uninspired because I wasn't thrilled about the idea of this chapter. But it's done now, and is, as always, un-beta'd.

The inception of this was set to Kylie Minogue's _Live in New York_, which is probably one of the best modern live albums. Simply fabulous, give it a listen if you like pop.

I hope you all have a happy, happy new year. I hope your 2010 was successful, and I wish you good luck in 2011. Feel free to share goals, resolutions, and ideas with me (weather or not they involve Harry Potter or this story...)

Give me reviews,

Love, Kai.

p.s. DID YOU NOTICE I USED "ejaculated" AS A VERB (in a nonsexual way)! I've been dying to use that ever since JK used it in OotP... although, it was Ron who said it _that_ time...


	10. The Blood Sea

**The Fire  
**By Kai

* * *

_Chapter Ten: The Blood Sea_

Harry had never had a particularly good experience with the floo network in the past, and yet, here he was once again, standing in front of an oversized fire place staring warily at the pot of powder next to it. He was in the living room of Number Twelve, the only people left were Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Ron, Charlie, and Hermione. Thankfully Ginny had been suspiciously absent that visit, and Harry was glad no one tried to force the subject on him...

"Stay safe," Hermione murmured, coming up to him and giving him a hug. He responded, folding his arms around her, feeling the warmth she was radiating...

"Yeah, you too," he whispered back. "And keep an eye on Ron."

She laughed. "Of course."

They broke away, and she stepped back. Ron came forwards and clapped on his back. "See you soon mate."

"Yeah, totally. See you soon."

Ron fell back, aligning himself with Hermione whilst Mr. Weasley eased forward to shake Harry's hand. "Always a pleasure seeing you Harry."

"You too."

At last it was Mrs. Weasley's turn. "Don't get into any more trouble you, I won't have it!" She grinned and pulled him into a tight hug... Ron looked mildly embarrassed, but Harry didn't mind.

He walked away and stared into the fire place. "You go first," he said to Charlie. The older Weasley had already gone through the various goodbyes, and was know standing across from Harry. "Alright." He turned around giving one last smile and wave before dipping his hand into the pot... He strolled into the fire place as if it was the most common thing in the world."The Dragon Reservation, Romania," he stated using as much diction as possible. He threw the powder onto the floor and a whirl of emerald green flames came and swept him away...

When the fire receded, the only thing that remained were ashes.

"My turn, I suppose," Harry grimaced.

"Good luck mate," Ron added. "Remember, speak clearly..."

"Yeah, thanks _mum_..." But Harry grinned and took a deep breath. "Bye all."

There were a few more "byes" in return as he grabbed a handful of the floo powder for himself and walked into the fireplace. It was barely the right size for him... "The Dragon Reservation, Romania," he repeated. He threw the powder to the ground and closed his eyes, praying to whomever was watching that he arrive at his intended destination safe and sound...

He felt that strange emerald green flames tickling at his skin... _Except for your eyes... you have your mother's eyes._ There was a rush... almost like wind, except for the fact that it was _he_ who felt like wind... And he was zooming, going faster... faster... faster... Until, at last, he landed with a loud _THUD_! He rolled out of another fire place, coughing up a cloud of ash.

Maybe, in the future, he would find time to hone his skills. He groaned and gathered himself, slowly standing up from the plush carpet he had landed on. He adjusted his glasses, thankfully they were still there, and opened his eyes. Two faces were staring back at him. The first belonged to Charlie (who was grinning wildly), and the second belonged to Aimee (who seemed bored).

"You look like shit," Aimee announced, but she broke out into a broad smile.

"Only you..." Charlie rolled his eyes.

"Where am I?" Harry asked, and Aimee sighed. "This is the main building. Basically it's like your building but larger. So, like, _technically_ your building is supposed to be able to hold _four_ people, you know – just in case, and _technically_ this one holds _eight_ but only five of us stay here. Anyways, this is just a hang-out spot during our time off... we've got a large TV, and a bigger kitchen, and a _fire_ place..."

"And a hot tub," Charlie chimed in.

"Yeah, and a hot tub." She did not looked thrilled. "People need to learn to be more responsible when they use it." Harry nodded, pretending he knew what she was talking about. "But whatever. Feel free to visit whenever you like... actually, the rest of us were starting to wonder why we hadn't seen you two in a while." She grinned and then let it fade away. "Well, are you leaving?"

"Yeah." Charlie turned to Harry. "Come on. Brush yourself off... alright, we'll go now." Harry was now standing next to the red head, and the started off. "Bye _Aimee_," he added in a sugary voice.

"She's a real charmer," Harry whispered.

"Yeah." They pushed out of the door and walked into the soft afternoon sky. "No use going to work now. You know, I think it's time we create a new schedule, so people can have more time off... Of course, that means the days we _do _work it'll be more... but those days off would be lovely..."

Harry cut off Charlie's rant."I want to go check out that hot tub."

"What? Oh...? _Ohh_." Charlie grinned. "Sure, sounds like fun. Here, it's this way." The turned a corner and went around to the back of the house. A brown hot tub looked vastly out of place, sitting on the deck, wilderness surrounding it. They climbed up and walked over to it. "_Wingardium Leviosa._" Charlie moved the thick cover. It was empty inside, so he casted two spells, one to fill it up with water and one to warm the water.

"I love magic."

Charlie agreed. "It _is_ rather convenient..."

Harry dragged his water over the surface of the water... "Perfect." He glanced at Charlie, before taking a deep breath. He stripped down to his underwear, and saw that Charlie was doing the same from the corner of his eye. He placed his fingers at the top of his waist band. In a moment when Charlie was pre-occupied with his own clothes, Harry quickly slipped them down and slid into the hot water.

There was a slight splash as the other boy got in with him. Harry laid back into the wall of the tub, exposing his skin to the bright sun. It hadn't been too long since he had started working with the dragons, and already his pale skin was beginning to tan... And his shoulders... could it be that they too were beginning to broaden?

He closed his eyes and slipped underneath the bubbling surface.

When he came up for air, he saw that Charlie had moved to the side of the tub so that they were on opposite sides. Charlie had an intense look in his eyes, but it was not mean or scary. It was only a look that bore into Harry's mind and made him feel utterly self-conscious and completely naked... He felt his breath strip away from him as the red head propelled his body forward and straddled Harry's legs with his own. He laced his dripping fingers into Harry's hair and pulled his face up to him so their lips could mash together. Harry's breath came back to him as he felt a tongue slip into his mouth, and he was beginning to feel completely anxious. This sensation... these feelings... they were new to him. And he was beginning to feel like he was in over his head.

But that didn't cause him to break the kiss. Instead he found his arms around the Weasley's back, holding onto him for dear life. He felt the ripples of muscle as the slightly older man re-adjusted himself. _This is comfortable_, Harry thought. The only other thought that he had was that he wanted more.

But there wasn't much more to be had... that amount of kissing and touching put them even closer – not only physically, but emotionally.

By the time night came and they slipped under their sheets, in their separate beds, they were both excited and exhausted. They could feel their long next day approaching readily...

Harry was swimming again. The sky around him was dark and cold, and the only consolation was that in the distance he could see hundreds of flickering candles in the Hogwarts windows. He was in the Black Lake, the only thing covering his skin were goose bumps. His arms were tired, but he had to persist. Stroke, after stroke, after stroke... He dove underneath, hoping to maybe find a warm spot, or at least get make it to the edge faster. But what he was swimming in... it was _sticky_. He pried his eyes open and instantly recoiled. The salt burned him. He stayed in the one spot, treading with his legs, and hesitantly brought a finger to his lips... it was blood.

A shiver went down his spine, and he tried swimming as fast as he could... but, he was going backwards. The more he tried to reach the other side, the further he got. A large clock tower sprung out of the lake, and the elegant gold hands moved counter-clockwise. The mighty castle that once stood in front of him fell over as if it was a cardboard cut out. He was losing hope...

She walked at a brisk pace, the wind toying at her black robes, causing them to swirl around her. Her pale skin reflected the moon light. Her steps radiated elegance; however, it was clear that she was on a mission.

Her shoes clicked softly as each foot made contact with the ground. Despite the lateness of the hour, her eyes were alert and she was paying special attention to her surroundings.

Suddenly the forest cleared and a particularly uninteresting building stood before her. She felt the numerous barriers surrounding it, its magic pulsated through her veins... but she pushed through. She was cautious not to set off any alarms.

Her wand was now out, and positioned in front of her. A faint glow bounced at the tip, but was barely bright enough to register. She put her hand on the knob of the door, and attempted turning. It was locked. She flicked her wand and the light copied itself, sending its clone to the knob. It entered the cool metal and there was a faint click.

She slipped in like a fox, and walked down the corridor paying special attention to not make any noise. After walking through the living area, she found two doors that were right next to each other. She laid her wand in the palm of her hand... and it twirled, pointing itself towards the right one.

She tried the door, and to her luck it was unlocked. She peered in and saw to bunk beds lined up against opposite walls. In the bottom of one of them was a boy whose body was so long, he looked bunched up on the small bed. She glided in the room, and sat on the edge of the bed. She sensed two other people in the room, but ignored them. They were asleep, anyways.

She jabbed her wand into the boys neck and he shifted his position in his sleep. "_Avada Kedavra_." The body, which had been radiating heat, suddenly became very cold and stiff.

In one motion she stood up, crossed the room, and made the body float out of its bed and fly behind her. Knowing her path, she strode out of the house and placed her hands on the chest of the body. They both warped into nothingness and reappeared in front of another little building.

She repeated what she had done with the other building, and...

She was flying, her back almost touching the ceiling. Her body was almost parallel to Harry's. The raven-haired boy was restless and panting slightly. She gave a slight laugh.

The body of the boy that she had killed was now positioned beneath Harry, on the bottom bunk. She flew down to the ground, and peered into the lifeless face. She muttered an incantation and the glow at the tip turned red. She dragged her wand across the neck of the boy and it created a slit.

Slowly, drip by drip, blood began to flow out of the wound and collected itself in a pool at the base of his neck...

* * *

Well, that was dark. As usual, it's un-beta'd. This chapter was written to Gwen Stefani songs, mainly "The Sweet Escape" and "What You Waiting For?" as well as the Klaxons's EP, "Landmarks of Lunacy."

So I have a dilemma, after realizing that this story ends at the climax, and the sequel is everything else... I have some options for you. Either (a) I keep on with my plan and have two separate stories (The Fire, and The Ice), or (b) I conjoin the stories and call it Harry Potter and the Wings of Fury (or just The Wings of Fury... or I suppose even Fire & Ice... if you have a better idea, tell me)... You decide, in your reviews.

I hope your New Year has been swell.

Review, review!  
Much Love, Kai


	11. The Youngest of Them All

**The Fire  
**By Kai

* * *

_Chapter Eleven: The Youngest of Them All_

He was drifting. Through space, possibly... But in actuality, he was drifting through his own subconsciousness. It was rather dark, and he wasn't quite sure what the point of this was... The only thing that he _did_ know was that his eyes were really quite heavy. And then there was that voice... it was familiar, but what was it saying?

"H..." The voice, again. Was it... was the person calling out his name? "Har..."

"Mmph," he responded. It must have been a mistake. They had the wrong person, he wasn't-

"HARRY!"

His eyes flew open and he saw Charlie, his hair disheveled, looking down on him. "What? What's going on?"

"Harry, I... I woke up and...and I saw it."

"Saw what?" Harry's eyes traveled Charlie's body and noticed that he was shaking. He was standing a few steps up the metal ladder on the bed, and there was something on his hands. What was that... blood?

Harry looked into Charlie's wide eyes and then scanned the room. There was a particularly nasty scent in the air, a mixture of salt and rot.

The walls were covered in splatters of red, it was like someone had started doing an artistic paint job, and never finished. "What happened?"

"I got up, and it didn't register at first. But then it did. And... well... see for yourself." Charlie guided himself down the bed. His eyes were glazed over. Harry groaned and made the effort, propelling his body over the edge and jumping to the ground. There was blood everywhere.

And there was a body, in the bed beneath Harry's. A boy's.

"It's Dennis. He's dead. Dead beyond dead. And his neck it's... well they slit it didn't they? And they must have put their hands in it or something... And... the room's a mess."

Charlie was on the verge of hyperventilating, while Harry was in a such a state of shock that it didn't really effect him. "I..." He. He what? Harry didn't know, he couldn't even move. It was like he was frozen in space. "Dennis? Like... the Res Dennis? Like... semi-intern Dennis?"

"Dennis Patterson, yeah. He's dead. He... oh god. It happened right when we were sleeping. The person who killed him was in our room. In our _ROOM_! In our _house_! Oh, Merlin..." And then something hit him. "What if they're still here." Panic flashed through his eyes. "Oh my God." He gulped and frantically ran through the house, looking in every corner, cupboard, and vase... and then looking through them again.

Harry looked at the body. It was a horrific mess, but despite the blood, and the death, and the cuts in his skin, Dennis looked rather peaceful. Harry sat down on the bed, next to the body. He was stiff. He slowly took his hand and placed it on the boys head. So cold...

Slowly Harry's breathing became a bit more normal.

He ran his fingers along the face. So young... almost _his_ age.

_The youngest of them all, will be the first of them to fall_.

A chill ran down Harry's spine. Those words, where had he heard them before? They were like a prophesy... but he hadn't seen any seers recently, and for all he knew Trelawney was still dead...

_Trelawney_!Now that he thought about it, it seemed as if he had seen her... relatively recently, at least. When was it?

He put that thought out of his mind, and returned his attention to the boy on the bed. He was becoming increasingly aware that his own hands were covered in blood. He shivered. They were so sticky... He _needed_ to get clean.

He stood up and found his wand. "_Wingardium Leviosa_." He went rigid as the body rose and floated towards him. "Um... CHARLIE!"

"Yes?" came the reply, and then the face appeared at the door way. The Weasley's eyes widened. "What are you going to do?"

"Put him outside and send up some distress sparks."

"Oh. Good idea."

"But I want to take a shower first."

"What?"

"He'll be okay. It's just... I know that once people know about him, we wont have much time to get clean and... I'd just rather be clean first."

"Alright." Charlie did not look comfortable with this stance. "I suppose he's been there all night, what's twenty more minutes?"

"E-exactly."

Harry floated the body outside... It was still night. They were _supposed_ to go to their rounds, but that wasn't likely now...

Harry went back inside and used a quick spell to clean their room. His chest felt a little lighter now, without the dying corpse in his sleeping area.

The door to the room was still wide open when he slowly slid his boxers off of himself. No need for modesty at this point... He went into the bathroom, and turned on the faucet, waiting for the water to heat.

He went to grab some clothes when he noticed Charlie looking particularly tense, sitting on the couch and staring into space. "Charlie." Harry walked over to the older boy. "You alright?"

"I... it's just so shocking. To see a dead body. It's surreal." He looked up into Harry's green eyes. "But I bet your used to it by now."

"Doesn't make it any less terrible." He paused for a moment, thinking, then draped his fingers over Charlie's shoulders and gently rubbed them for a moment. He could feel the Weasley relaxing... "Come on," he murmured, "take a shower with me."

Charlie did not reply, but he slowly got up and allowed Harry to guide him. Along the way, his clothes had been cast to the ground and they were climbing into the steaming water... Harry stood closest to the stream, Charlie's arms surrounding his waist, clutching him close. Harry made little effort to move to clean himself or console the man behind him. "It's obviously a message for you," Charlie stated flatly.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it's probably a message from the She-Devil, right? I mean, it must just be something to try and scare you. I don't know why they wouldn't have killed you right then and there... Maybe she wants you to fight back, I don't know. But all I know is that your not safe here. Somehow they found you, possibly _again_ depending on who ever caused that headache vision of yours..."

Harry's heart raced. He was scared, but he did not want to worry Charlie. They had fallen into a silent and mutually agreed upon relationship and it was comfortable. And this was one of those times where Harry, as a silent partner, had to console the man he lusted after.

"I worry for you, _so_ much. I hope you realize that."

Harry felt a kiss on his neck, and two hands sliding up and down his chest. "I do," he replied.

"Then I think... and please don't freak out... but I think if you stayed in one of the caves with some dragons, Fyre maybe, then I think that would be best for you. At least for a while."

Harry did not want war. He did not want to fight again. And yet... he didn't want to stay on the side lines either. "I... alright, I guess."

"Thank you. I know, that maybe you don't think so – but that really does help me feel better about you and your safety."

Harry twisted his body around, to face Charlie. "You're a wonderful person, and the fact that you've not yet been disillusioned by this death, makes me all the more proud of you." He smiled and leaned forward into a kiss.

xXx

"_What?_ You couldn't have had this information _before_ the events of last night?" She was not pleased. Her alabaster skin was clad in silky robes and she looked like a queen, perched up in that chair of hers...

"My lady. We didn't know – we didn't realize. Foolish, foolish of us to not put two and two together."

"Yes. Quite foolish." She seemed to think about the fate she had in store for the frightened man who was kneeling in front of her. He too was pale, but it did not look as if he had a choice. It looked as if someone had forced him to stay inside for years. "However, what I did... it still served its purpose."

"Of course, of course it did. So maybe this oversight in information can be forgiven – just this once?" He was about fifty, and he wore tattered robes that appeared both two sizes to small, and two sizes to large at the same time. On his arm was a familiar skull with a stationary snake slithering about it. But it was old, and faded, and regarded with such disdain that its owner himself did all he could to remove _those_ ties...

She smiled, if only slightly. "_Yes, _of course." Her voice was slick, and sweet. "I think... I think that _you _will lead the second round of attacks."

"M-me?" He did not look thrilled about this. In fact, for his fifty years he looked so weary that he could have passed for seventy, even eighty.

"Yes Garamon, _you_ will lead those attacks. And you will carry out your orders tomorrow. For now you will rally the troupes. For this simple little task, you do not need the full army. But you will take most of it. However, I expect you to do some 'recruiting' during this _outing_."

"Y-yes... yes my lady."

"Good. As you're the one to bring me the information about this... place, I assume you know where it is?"

"I have a general understanding of the area, yes." Garamon's faced betrayed the confidence in his statement.

"Fantastic!"

"Is there anything else V-my lady?" He immediately regretted speaking.

Her eyes narrowed, and her cheek bones flared. "_Excuse me?_" Her voice was shrill. "You _dare _attempt _my_ name!"

"I'm sorry my lady... a simple slip up. So, so, _so_ sorry." He was bowing.

"_Garamon!_" She snapped, and he looked up into her horrible eyes. Her body was changing, becoming more and more ugly and evil. Wings expanded from her back, but she remained sitting. "_You will be replaced. I have no need for you._"

"Y-y-you h-have no n-need for me?" He gasped, and terror flashed across his face.

"_No!_ _I am going to kill you_-" he broke out into a terrible cry, and his pleas became more and more disjointed. "_But first, please tell me what that place was called again?_"

"M-my lady!" His hands were soaked with sweat, and he was clutching at himself, seemingly making sure that his body was still intact.

"_The place, what was it called?_" She clutched her hands in Garamon's thinning hair and slowly rose in such a way that he was pulled up with her.

"My lady..." It was barely a whisper, now. "_Please_. A mistake-"

"_The place_."

"G-Godric's Hollow, my lady – _please_."

"_I have no more use for those words_. Avada Kedavra."

There was a jet of bright green light, and she released her gasp on the man. The body fell to the floor.

* * *

There ya have it, chapter eleven. As usual, it's un-beta'd. Music: Avril Lavigne's album Under My Skin, and Beyonce's I Am...Sasha Fierce.

Also, I must commend myself for updating so... consistently. The last "full length" story I did on one of these sites took me... like, a whole year – and it wasn't much longer then this!

By the by, in my story Trelawney is dead. She died in the battle of Hogwarts, shortly after she went on a rampage with the Crystal Balls.

Your feedback means a lot to me!  
Much love, KAI


	12. The Ice, Pt 1

**The Fire  
**By Kai

* * *

_Chapter Twelve: The Ice Pt. 1_

Harry was sitting on a rock. An orb of light hung in the air and illuminated the earthly chambers. A large dragon was sprawled across the floor, while a slightly smaller one bounced about with an excess of energy.

Harry sat still, staring out in space at nothing in particular. Despite his demonic company, he was rather bored. He toyed with his precious wand, and weighed it in one hand before transferring it to the other. He was "safe" here. He was away from all the trouble, and consequently, he was away from all life.

Fyre bounced about, an animal limb sticking out of its mouth. It grinned at Harry, and pawed at the ground in front of him. "_Do you wanna play something?"_ it seemed to be asking.

"You're cute you know that?" Harry smiled at the creature, "And you're all together to large to be so bouncy. If your not careful, you could break one of my bones..." Harry wasn't sure, but he could have sworn that the dragon was laughing at him. "You're an odd one..."

"Are you sure he's the odd one?" Harry looked up, and saw Charlie standing there, dressed up in leather pants and a loose white shirt. "Hey you."

"Hey Charlie, what's up? What are ya doing here? Why aren't you doing your rounds? How are you?"

Charlie smirked, "Harry, it's been... twenty minutes since we last saw each other. Calm down. Besides, I'm just taking a quick break to check up on you."

"I feel bad that I can't help..."

"No, I just don't want you too. Stay safe... stay here."

"Okay. So, uh, how are the others taking to _his..._ death?"

"Surprisingly well... I mean. Well, it's been quite a shock to everyone – but obviously his roommates were aware something was up when he wasn't there in the morning. Hannah was blaming herself, well, you know how she gets, and Ruby was quite shocked. I think there might have been something between those two, but now I suppose we will never know. Anyways, that's that, everyone else is being eerily silent. I see your okay. And how are you Fyre?"

The dragon snorted, and a few sparks escaped him. Charlie roared with laughter. "Good to know. Hey, if you don't need anything I think I should go back to my duties."

"Um, I don't need anything... but uh, Charlie?"

"Yeah."

"I was wondering if," Harry gulped. "I know you don't really want to stay on the sidelines this time, but I uh... I was thinking. If you stayed here with me during all the crap that's going to happen between the she-Bitch and the New Order, then we'll be safe together. And uh, you'll be able to keep watch over me."

Charlie did not respond, he only stood there, thinking.

"And you'll be able to know that I'm safe... I, uh... I _know_ it's incredibly selfish of me, I just can't help it! I really, really want you to be safe too. And... okay, I guess that's it..." … "Please say something?"

"Okay."

"Okay?"

Charlie nodded. "I'll do this for you, but it's not fair to everyone else."

"I know, I _know_."

"Alright, when I'm done I'll come back and we'll figure this out."

"Okay. Good – great. Thank you _so_ much, Charlie. Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Mhm." Charlie pivoted on the spot. "I'll see you in a few hours," he called back over his shoulder.

"Alright. I lo... I owe you."

xXx

She had dressed for the occasion. Clad in a dress which was colored an exuberant yellow, it simultaneously brought out the gold in her eyes, accentuated the curves of her body, and made her have an effervescent glow about her. Her long platinum strands of hair sparkled from the roots to her tips. She had a wand in one hand, and a smile on her face.

Around her was an army. Full of bodies, and bones, it stumbled along looking completely eerie. The inferi crawled along at the pavement, their sad bodies taking it step by step. The dementors glided along the ground and through the air, invading corners and niches and alleys, turning smiles into frowns and fears into reality. Wizards strutted along too, all looking alike. Female, blonde, angry. They looked like fearless Amazons. But it was not just them, there were men too. And beasts.

The sight was extraordinary. If the context hadn't been quite so malevolent it could have easily been a spread in a wizard fashion magazine (albeit a particularly Gothic one...). She paraded down the street, her legion following her every move.

At last she stopped and raised her wand in the air. A streak of light shot out and lit up the sky and all hell broke loose. They rampaged around the town shattering windows, and lives, and homes, and destroying the lot of it. She stuck her wand in a pocket, and transformed.

Her face became very ugly, and wings spread from her back. Her hands became talons and she shot into the sky, darting around furiously, looking at all the action.

"_It's a pleasure to be here_," she murmured in appreciation to all of the chaos. She moved around a bit, observing tenaciously...

And then, "_I have a flaw, you know_," she said to no one in particular. "_My flaw is one of pride..._" she drawled on, seemingly unaware that she was completely alone amongst the crowds. Her body was hovering in the dark sky, and the stars twinkled in a desperate innocence. It seemed, as if, she had imagined someone asking her what her flaw was, because she added, "_My flaw is that I want to save him for last! You ask, Why not just kill him? You know what? There is no reason that I haven't other then the fact that I don't want to. Ever eaten a meal and saved your favorite food for the end, so you can have that lingering taste in your mouth? That is what this is. Harry is the goal, right? So I figure... destroy everything else first: the people he loves, friends, family, and then when he's all alone and desperate... Well, let's just say that hopefully there will be tears!_"

She soared across the sky, and found a particular home that was in shambles. But this home... she had not destroyed it. Her people had not destroyed it. It had already been this way when they had arrived, and it had been this way for many, many years. She landed, and within seconds transformed back into the shape of a beautiful woman. She looked up at the home and snorted. "Ugly." She wrenched open the door and walked into the shadowy hall. With a swift motion of her wand, she filled the home with light. "Much better..."

She looked at the walls, and the pictures – happy people filled the frames. James and Lily laughing, smiling, looking carefully into each others eyes. And baby Harry - so young he was. No scar on his forehead. A twinkle in his smile.

Her gaze fell to a stair case, and she slowly ascended. She ran her fingers along the worn wallpaper, and felt the lingering traces of magic, fear, and love flow through her and into her veins.

How she was jealous.

There was a door at the top of the stairs, and it was slightly ajar. The large ball of light floated towards it as she pressed her fingers against the wood and slowly allowed it to creak open. She peered inside. A crib sat empty and alone. A plaything had fallen from the ceiling and into it, and there were toys scattered all around. Many of them broken, all of them dusty.

She gathered her robes and sat down on the floor, clearing some toys out of the way. She crossed her legs, straightened her back, and closed her eyes. From outside she could hear terror: people were screaming. Spells were being exchanged. Buildings were coming down... In the distance she could here the feint blare of the sirens, coming to get them.

She guessed that it would be five or ten minutes before the police would be here. But by then she would be gone. It was good though. The foundations for the trap would be set in time, and then all that she needed would be for someone to get caught.

A little sigh escaped her lips, and she opened her eyes. "This will work well," she whispered to herself, "All alone in the center of the neighborhood..." She drew out her bag, and from it she gathered a few items and set them on the ground in front of her. Sand infused with tangerine essential oil, six Cyprus candles, a pouch of dried Wisteria leaves, a single grapefruit, and a knife.

"_E__go verto is pectus pectoris ex diligo ut bellum_," she enchanted slowly. She picked up the jar of sand and poured it around her in a circle. "_Ego addo quattuor elementum una facio is pugna agri... flamma_." she said, closing the jar. Next she picked up the candles and placed them at equidistant intervals around the circle. With her wand she pointed at them and they lit on fire. "_Terra_." She opened the pouch of flower petals and scattered them across the carpet, saving one petal and sticking it in between her breasts. "_Aqua_." Next, she cut open the grapefruit and squeezed a drop onto each of the flames. "_Aer... Sino adversus iungo, sino mihi commodum, iunctum nos ut unus, contego nos insquequo vicis . Ego trado aliquantulus ego, quod ego volutarie tribuo ego ut filiolus_," she took the knife that was now dripping in juice, and pressed it along her palm, breaking skin and bleeding.

She swallowed the pain.

She pressed the wound onto the handle of her wand. Once the wood had gathered all the blood that it could, she passed it back to her right hand and took a breath. "_Is cruor sacramentum capio vadum signum pactum_."

Her light bubble faded and she was left in the darkness with the flickering candles... and then a gust of wind blew them out. She could smell the smoke, sliding into her nostrils, burning her insides. Tears began forming at the sides of her eyes and rolled down her face. She was not sad, she was not emotional. She would not let herself be so.

One droplet fell to the floor.

It was like an explosion. The candles roared back into life, their flames reaching the ceiling, the petals changed from dark burgundy to white and luminescent. The blood began glowing, and the sand began dancing – slowly raising and forming itself into a circular wall, closing her in with the fire. Suddenly the sand solidified. But it wasn't glass... she reached out a finger and touched it. It was ice? The flames too turned white, and then a twister formed above her head and began whipping everything around.

She should have died.

At the very least, she should have gained severe burns.

But the most she could feel was a feint tickle, and a slight breeze.

And then everything slowed for a moment, the twister whipped the flower petals into pieces of dust and slammed them against the ice. The fire began the shrink again, all before time resumed its normal pace and they expanded once more. This time going at such a force that there was a _BOOM!_

The ice shattered into pieces, but remained stationary in mid air. The candles extinguished themselves. The twister was beginning to dissipate...

The pieces of ice and petals began clumping together in a ball directly above her head.

Everything was quiet. She dared not breath. Her eyes were fixed on the ice, only barely noticing that snow was begging to frost the stuffed animals and small pieces of furniture surrounding her.

And then the ball burst open from inside, sending pieces of ice everywhere, across all of the room, across all of the home, across all of Godric's Hollow.

She exhaled. The candles stood lamely around her, and the grapefruit halves looked as if life couldn't have gotten any more boring for them.

Outside, in the city around her, it was clear that winter had come early.

* * *

Holy crap! This chapter was so hard to write because originally it was a Harry/Charlie chapter with a little bit of the Dark Lady mixed in, and I was in writers block, and school was getting a bit heavy... But then I forced myself to write and this happened! I pulled that spell out of my ass, and you know? I'm glad I wrote it in. I think it sets the stage for The Ice very nicely...

On that note, I'd like to note that I'd like to say that I have problems with this story, but as a personal goal it's quite the accomplishment. Two chapters of this remain, and then I'll take another break – I love Harry & Charlie, but I can't do it constantly. I'll probably write something else before I come back and write the sequel.

Also, I'd like to have someone to be my "consultant" for the second half of this story. I have a lot of plot ideas that I'd like to run by you before I sit down and begin writing it, and I'd like your help. So please, volunteer yourselves?

Music: Kylie Monogue (again). She's like... some of my default music I guess. xD I found some excellent B-Sides of hers, and I'm in love all over again. Also, go check out Sky Ferriera. She's a Bloodshy & Avant prodigy and has a great track called "Obsession."

I hope you enjoyed reading this, as usual it's un-beta'd...  
Thanks for sticking with me so far!

Reviews are love,  
Well wishes, KAI


	13. A Day of Nothing

**The Fire  
**By Kai

* * *

_Chapter Thirteen: A Day of Nothing_

A gust flooded through Europe. It seemed to be signifying an impending danger. It was almost as if everyone could feel it, and get it's meaning... and yet, not everyone really understood it. But that was okay, it wasn't meant to be understood.

**EXCLUSIVE! ATTACKS ON GODRIC'S HOLLOW SPUR EVACUATIONS!  
**By Nina Garrison

It came out of the blue, when hundreds – possibly even thousands – of dark beings raged war upon the small town of Godric's Hollow, rendering it obsolete. The attacks, presumably led by the ever elusive Dark Lady, caused 49 fatalities, in addition to the hundreds of people injured or otherwise effected during the commotion.

The attacks started early this morning, at around 3:15. According to eye witnesses, it started off with the large group, consisting of infiri, dementors, wizards and more, walking down a street and then as if a switch had been flipped, starting to attack. [Story continued on Page 6A]

**AHHH! THE DARK LADY STRIKES! (AGAIN?)  
**By Stravinsky Smith

Who would have thought it? Godric's Hollow, a place of peace for the past 18 years, was attacked again last night. The attackers, consisting of The Dark Lady and her posse, attacked the city at about 4:00 am. No word on if they have evacuated completely yet, but it seems as if they have.

The real mystery, however, is the snow? Here we are in the dead of summer and snow is coating every inch of the city and more! It seems as if it's inside of a spell...

**BABY, IT'S COLD OUTSIDE... IN GODRIC'S HOLLOW?  
**By Sean Wilcomb

A strange occurrence took place this morning. The lands of Godric's Hollow are completely covered in snow, and there is absolutely no clue why. It is possible that this thing relates to the attacks on the city late last night, but that seems unlikely... [story finishes on p. 48]

Newspapers, magazines, radio. Every one was buzzing about the war that was beginning to tick. How no one was prepared to fight it. How it had nearly obliterated a town. It was the talk of the Wizarding World, and it seemed as if Muggles were starting to question their own life styles.

Had the world not been so afraid to act, rash actions would have surely led to an apocalypse of some sort. But instead of going and fighting, people locked themselves away. In certain parts of town, the streets were completely empty. Many establishments had been closed for the time. It was as if the Wizarding World cut itself off completely.

A single idea ran through the Muggle Prime Minister's mind. _Magic_. A city turning to snow over night? That wasn't nature being screwed over by regular humans, or scientists. It reeked of magic.

It was only in this moment that he so desperately wanted to reach a wizard. Normally he would have been perfectly content going on through his life _without_ ever making contact, but he needed answers.

He paced back and forth across his richly decorated office. The portraits on the wall glared back at him with a sense of imperial pride. He glanced nervously at the oversized fireplace. Once before he had seen an eccentric someone tumble out of the flames and greet him with a smile and welcome him to his position as the _Muggle_ Prime Minister.

The conversation hadn't lasted long, and before he knew it the man threw some powder back into the fire and disappeared.

This was not his day. His phone had been ringing off the hook, to the point that he had unplugged it from the wall and turned off his cellular device.

Finally he sat down in the green upholstered arm chair and rested his chin on his fist. He stared off into space, waiting for the fire to flair up green and someone to come out, and yet – no one did.

After a while, he stood up and walked over to the fire and poked at it with the stoker, but nothing changed. Surprisingly, it took him a lot of effort to cross the room, once again, and pour himself a brandy.

It didn't surprise him that he had downed it in one long gulp.

* * *

Impatient faces were looking at her. Hermione stood on the one side of the room giving nervous glances towards Ron. "Um," she opened her mouth, and then closed it – thinking for a moment. "Alright. I have a game plan ready. Basically we're just gonna spend _more_ time patrolling, and er, yeah."  
No one replied, instead they stared on at here with hard glares. Ron gave her a small smile, and she returned it before wiping the emotion from her face.

"Alright then. Before I send you on your way, I have a gift for you." There were murmurs. "Luna, er no, Ron if you could help me?"

"Sure," he came forth and she gave him a basket full of necklaces.

"Er, right. Well, okay. For those who were in the DA, you know of the fake Galleons... and while those were good and all, I feel like... well, I devised a new way to communicate with each other that is a bit more open ended. Ron, hand them out already!"

"Right, sorry... do I get one?"

"No Ron, I'm excluding you... of _course_ you get one."

The necklaces were unimpressive, just some lettered block beads strung on a bit of twine. Still, everyone took one from the basket and fastened them around their necks.

"So, here's how it works. If you have a simple, short message to convey to someone else, you just take the necklace and you say _Reformo_ and then what you want it to say. Okay, so here. I'll try it out for you," she held up the necklace so all could see, and pointed her wand at it. "_Reformo_ Help."

The little black letters that adorned the cube beads changed form, eventually spelling out Help.

"So what if you need to send a message that's longer then," Ginny counted the number of beads, "Thirty characters?"

"Oh, well. The necklace will grow, wont it?" Hermione sighed and pointed at her necklace again, "_Reformo_ I really, really hope we win this battle." All at once the necklaces lengthened, more beads appeared and the letters changed shape.

Ron whistled.

"And what if we want to hide what it says?" Ginny countered.

"You just think in your mind, _Cassus_. And well... yeah." Hermione proceed to show them what happened, "But be careful, because it will wipe _everybodies_ necklace, and they will all go back what they said originally... Which should be your names, so make sure you have the right one."

There was a little bit of bustling.

"Alright, now that we've got that out of the way, I just want to go over placement again. I will first tell you what the stations are, then I'll tell you how we'll rotate. Station One, the Ministry of Magic. Station Two, Diagon Alley. Station Three, Base. Station Four, Hogwarts and Hogsmeade. Station Five, Godric's Hollow. Station Six, Base. Basically you will go on eight hour shifts. The way I've got it set up is that you'll work in sections of sixteen hours. So it goes like this, group one will start at station one and keep going up, and group two will start at station two, group three, station three, and so on. When it says 'base' come back _here_ and _sleep_. Eat, rest up – whatever. Just relax and rest up for the impending shifts. This will continue as long as necessary. Also, certain few of you, for obvious reasons, will have to stay at one location. That is fine, so I've designated that out... if that includes you, just resume your schedule as normal – but be careful. Alright, any questions? Great. Here are the groups:

"Group one will be Ron and I. Group two will be Bill and Fleur. Group three will be Oliver and Ginny. Group four will be Katie, Dean, and... Cho. Group five: George and Angelina; and group six: Neville, Seamus, and Luna. Questions? Alright, now please get near your group member. Everyone else, here is your permanent station: Those who will remain at the Ministry of Magic will be Kingsley and Mr. Wea-Arthur. Remaining at Hogwarts are McGonnigal and at Hogsmeade, Aberforth. Remaining at Diagon Alley will be Elphias and Dedalus. Remaining at Godric's Hollow will be Molly and Hestia. And Hagrid, would you mind staying here and manning the grounds?"

The large man, who had been very silent in the past few days, crowded the back of the room, but despite his distance, Hermione could easily make his eye. He grunted, "Sure, anythin' fer you." Hermione could tell that he would not like leaving his animals for this, but obviously it was war time...

Hermione returned her gaze to the rest of the crowd that filled the room past its tipping point. "Anything you need from me before we break?"

There was a slight murmur and a wave of shaking heads.

"Alright then... _break!_"

All at once people started gathering up their things and getting ready to move on. Hermione turned around and conjured a board, on it she wrote down what the stations were – just so people could have a reminder. In clumps, people moved to the board to make note of the stations they'd have to visit before returning. With a sigh, they floo'd away.

Now only Hermione, Ron, Hagrid, Katie, Dean, Cho, Neville, Seamus, and Luna remained.

"I guess it's time for us to go, Ron?"

"Yeah?"

"You ready?"

"Sure."

"Let's go then. We're doing the Ministry first and then Diagon Alley."

"Yeah."

As Hermione and Ron left the building, the remaining people looked at each other.

"I suppose we should get some rest then, right?" Cho asked.

"Yes, I suppose so... although we must make sure that our sleeping area's are Wackle-spurt free. I have a feeling this place is infested..."

Neville looked positively horrified.

* * *

It was a while before Charlie had finally returned to Harry. With him he brought a bag of clothes, and food, and supplies. The dragon's eyed them suspiciously as the duo converted the cave into something that _resembled_ a home. At last, when they had hidden everything in different niches around the cave, they came in and settled on the floor, against the wall. The two leaned into each other and breathed.

Harry had to admit, the air in a cave was rather stuffy. For that, he felt bad for the dragons – but they seemed to tolerate it as best as they could... "Charlie?"

"Yeah?"

"We don't talk much. About real stuff. I mean, we talk all the time but it never gets very deep. I don't know... I just kinda want to hear about your life up until... me I guess. What I don't know about you."

"That's like 25 years of knowledge... that's a tall order!"  
"Yeah, but I think it could be interesting. Okay, what if we went back and forth and asked a question."

"Alright then."

"Okay. Who is your favorite sibling?"

"Bill. Do you ever wonder if He-Who-Should-Not-Be-Named is going to come back?"  
"No... never. Why have you been single for so long?"

"Never been interested in anyone. Why did you come to Romania?"

"Change of pace. I was sick of life and needed to reinvent it a bit, I think. Why did _you_ come to Romania?"

"I've always loved dragons."

They paused a bit, seemingly out of questions. Charlie readjusted his body, putting an arm around Harry's shoulders and the raven-haired boy moved into the embrace.

Finally, Charlie asked, "Why me?"

"I dunno."

* * *

It happened all too fast. A swatch of emerald green flames soared through the fireplace, and a couple got out. One was a red-head, and one was a brunette.

The thing was, was that there was a leak in the new Order, because it wasn't so long ago that the Dark Lady had received word that its new unofficial leader had sent herself to The Ministry of Magic. The Dark Lady used the opportunity to her advantage, quickly dispatching a few of her minions to go check out the situation.

Upon her arrival, Hermione was quickly snatched up by the people sent to retrieve her. For some reason, Ron had not been taken.

Before he could react, however, Hermione had been long gone. It was by her fortune that she had a certain fake Galleon tucked away in her pocket. It was in the moments when her captors weren't watching that she sent a message to the boy who lived, twice.

_Help_.

* * *

Ah! This is so late. Sorry, sorry. I meant to get it out by last Friday, but I was just so uninspired! I think that also shows in the quality of this chapter... but here it is. I hope you enjoyed, even a little bit? Un-beta'd. Second to last chapter, I think the last chapter will be epic, yada yada...

Again, I need someone to throw idea's at for the sequel! Please! Please! I beg of you! Step forward!

Reviews really do help me want to write more! ;) BTW, I've been addicted to the Buffy, The Vampire Slayer: Once More, With Feeling soundtrack. It's quite lovely, and that's an equally lovely TV series! Check it out...

Thanks a bunch :)  
Much love, KAI


	14. The Fire, Pt 2

**The Fire**  
By Kai

* * *

_Chapter Fourteen: The Fire Pt. 2_

_Help_.

Breathing. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. Harry and Charlie lay together, sprawled across the floor of the cave, utterly still in a state of leisurely complacence. Their eye lids remained half closed as they thought about nothing in particular. Fyre stood in near proximity, eye balling the bodies warily.

The cave was stuffy and warm and uncomfortable, but in their rest, neither Harry nor Charlie cared. A sense of magic filled the room, looking for an outlet. It wasn't a light, in particular. It wasn't even a sound. The magic was so small it was like a tingle at the tip of a finger, or a rush against an area of exposed flesh. It soared from corner to corner, finally finding the place it was meant to be and consolidating itself within a façade of metal and letters.

Harry felt something in his pocket. His eyes fluttered completely open and he stared at the ceiling for a moment, trying to recall the sensation he had felt. Happiness? Nostalgia? Warmth?

He turned his head and felt his pocket, and caressed the outline of the fake Galleon that Hermione had given him – he had completely forgotten about it. And right now it was searing hot. It took a moment for him to register that he was getting a message. He withdrew the piece and held it close to his face. It took less then a second to read and once he had, Harry couldn't breathe. It seemed as if his breath had been caught in his throat.

Charlie opened his eyes and turned his head. "What's going on?"

Harry wordlessly handed the money over.

"What? A Galleon? What's this for?"

"Read it," Harry whispered.

"Huh? Oh…" Charlie's face went a shade paler. "Who is it from?"

"Hermione."

Neither of them spoke for what was a long time.

"What do we do?" Charlie asked, at last.

"Nothing, right? We said we'd stay out of the war. That is war, and this is us staying out of it," Harry replied, gesturing around.

"That's so much to ask of me, Harry. Your best friend. Harry! Your. Best. Friend! She's in danger, and she's asking for your help Harry. And if not just you, then both of us."

"You've got to quit cold turkey. You've got to flush out all of the cigarettes and just get over it. If you don't quit then, then that temptation is always there."

"What are you talking about?"

"If I don't pull off this band-aid… of… war, then I'll never rip it off. I'll never stop Charlie! Sacrifices have to be made."

"Listen to yourself, Harry. You sound… evil. Harry, I told you I'd stay but… I didn't realize the consequences. Don't ask me to make this decision."

"I'm not, I'm asking you to stay."

"Harry. Don't be stupid."

"I am not being stupid, I'm being fair to myself. I did that whole hero thing, I'm done!"

"HARRY! YOU CANNOT DO THIS TO HERMIONE OR TO RON! …He's my _brother_." At this point both boys had their feet planted firmly on the ground. Charlie's eyes bore into Harry's, making him shrink back. "Harry. I have to go and try to find her, wherever she may be."

Harry did not reply.

"I'm going to go to Number 13 now to figure out where the last place Hermione was at. Are you coming with me?"

Harry did not reply.

"Okay, fine, when you're done being childish and selfish, join the battle. After all, it's you everyone's fighting after."

"What? No. What are you talking about?"

"It's always you, isn't it." Charlie gave Harry another look full of warmth and hatred, and then kissed him on his cheek. "Goodbye."

Harry wanted so desperately to fling his arms around the Weasley's neck and draw him in close and kiss him all over his face and whisper in his ear, telling him he was right but to stay… And if that didn't work, telling him that he loved him… or he thought he did, at least, and telling him to be safe. And then Harry would bask in the glow of Charlie's presence, and they would have one more, earth shattering, attention grabbing, utterly intense kiss before the older man left.

But he could not move. He stood, fixated in one point, his eyes following the other man's back as he walked away into a portal and promptly disappeared without a look back.

It was just then that Harry unfroze. "_FUCK!_" He screamed, kicking at the wall of the cave. Fyre gave a little whine, and his mother glared at Harry with irreverence.

A pang toyed at his forehead, and his hand flew up to touch his scar – but it wasn't his scar that hurt. It was… just a headache. He dismissed it for a moment, but realized he could not as the pain became searing hot and he doubled over in pain.

He had felt this way before.

His vision became blurry and his mind starter whirring in every which way, and then he saw them. His parents stood not to far away, their hands intertwined, looking very much as they had in the Mirror of Erised in his first year at Hogwarts. At first their expressions were marginally happy, but that faded, and they were blank. He tried to wave at them but found he was immobilized. They opened their mouths and in a singular dark, demonic voice they said, "You are weak. You are a coward. You do not deserve to be a Griffindor. You have dishonored the Potter name. You are weak, weak, weak, weak! If I could have killed you myself, I would have. But I died for you. Why did I do that? I don't know. It was a rash decision on my part. In retrospect… I shouldn't have. But I did. You were an accident."

Harry tried defending himself. "No!" he said, "NO! I'm not! I'm not an accident! I'm not a coward!" But no words left his lips. He did not back down. He opened his mouth again and attempted screaming. "NOOOOOOOOO!"

But his parents just cocked their heads to the side and looked at him as if he was a silly little child.

"I AM NOT A COWARD!"

"Then prove it."

Harry was lying on the floor, again, staring up at the ceiling and wondering when he had fallen. He had not felt himself fall… He picked himself up. He was still shaking and his forehead was a bitch, but he would be okay.

He glanced up at the bumbling dragon and it froze in its tracks and stared back at Harry. If dragons could smile, Harry was sure Fyre just did. "What are you playing at?" Harry asked the beast, walking towards it with small tentative steps. His hands were stretched far out in front of him and the dragon nuzzled up against his palm, snorting. Harry petted it soothingly, but more for his own sake. "What am I going to do Fyre?"

The dragon opened its eyes and gave Harry a look and the raven-haired boy smiled.

"I'm supposed to prove I'm not cowardly. How do I do that?"

"_Fight_," Fyre seemed to say.

Harry's smile faltered. "Where?"

_Pfft_, the dragon rolled its eyes and trampled back to it's mother and curled up besides her. She licked at one of his scales.

"Fyre?" The little monster perked up it's ears, "I'm going to run back home and grab some news papers or whatever, see if I can find anything that could possibly indicate my next step. Then when I figure it out, I'll come back and we'll go where ever. Is that okay?"

The dragon rested it's head back on the dirt floor and dozed off.

"I'll take that as a yes."

Harry took one look around the room and took note of his and Charlie's stuff piled up by a wall. As he walked towards the portal, he decided that he would leave it where it was.

* * *

It took a moment for Harry to register what he saw. After he had scurried through the cold night, and gathered all the newspapers and magazines that he could find, he had rushed back to the cave and promptly dropped them on the floor in a garbled mess. One after another had found little tid-bits that added up to a general story.

Something had happened at Godric's Hollow recently. _His_ Godric's Hollow. A shiver went down his spine. Winter? Infiri? Dementors? This was not a good sign. It was as if Voldemort had trained someone personally as a backup for when he died for real.

He looked up at the snoring dragon. His decision was clear; he'd fly to the place of his parent's deaths immediately. He stood up, sifted through his bags for a suitable jacket, and secured his wand safely in his pocket. At last, when he could hold off no longer, he approached Fyre, and placed one hand on his smooth, dry head and slowly shook it awake.

Fyre slowly rose, and simultaneously shook out its invisible mane and snorted. He opened his mouth wide, in what looked like a yawn, and a small puff of fire escaped. Harry glanced at him nervously, "You ready?"

The dragon strutted over to the boy who lived (twice), and squatted down to the ground so Harry could easily climb onto his back, which he did. Once he had found his footing, and a suitable scale to hold on to during the duration of the flight, he had kicked Fyre's side gently, indicating he was ready. The beast huffed and flapped its wings. Slowly, it rose.

It circled around the large cave once, twice, three times, warming up its entire body before it zoomed towards the portal.

The duo leaped into the night sky, the moon was coming to full in the sky, and the stars sprinkled about, adding some spice to the general effect. Harry could feel the tense muscles underneath the scales, and had the sense that Fyre was fly as fast as he could, which did seem very fast.

If there was anything Harry _should_ have been worried about, it was that he would fall off. But the thought never crossed his mind. If anything he felt even safer up here then he felt on his broom.

This was the feeling he lived for: flying. It was a sensation he loved. The mixture of adrenaline and speed and anxiety and excitement all titillated his senses. Slowly time began to fly by, but it was a slow progression, in a linear order - and it was worrying Harry.

It was then that he realized the consequences. He was running out of time, and suddenly it became _serious_. He felt the Galleon tucked safely away in his pocket, and his wand pressed against his thigh. He shifted his weight, holding tightly to the dragon's neck. Fyre slowed down for a moment, catching its breath. Harry tapped his foot impatiently…

An idea crossed his mind.

He pulled out his wand and gripped it tightly. He hoped to God that he wouldn't die… neither of them would. He clenched his eyes closed and thought, as hard as he could about Godric's Hollow. He saw himself, and Fyre, disappearing from this mid-motion flight and reappearing there. And… _now_.

Harry did not have to open his eyes to know it had not worked, for he still felt the same rush of wind through his hair and the cold air on his skin.

He closed his eyes again and manifested with all his might…

The wind had stopped completely. Yet he still felt insanely cold. He opened his eyes and it took him a moment to catch his breath before the dragon beneath him began thrashing about, madly. Harry flew from Fyre's back, utterly bewildered by the fact that a) he had successfully Apparated both himself _and_ a dragon, mid-flight and that b) he was about to hit the ground.

It was from his new vantage point on the tar road of the city of his past that he could finally take in his surroundings. He saw monsters rampaging about, and people running around in terror, and some slightly familiar faces fighting back – but he couldn't really tell what had happened. Or when it had started. Or why. All he could see was the present.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" It was the scream that pierced his trance. A woman and her child stood, not far a way, trembling as they looked up at Fyre's roaring body. It took Harry to notice that in the transition, Fyre had accidentally been splinched from his wing and was howling madly. Harry got up from the ground, and tried to go comfort the beast, but Fyre was having none of it. In its hectic rampage, it began to breath fire, and the flames licked at the ground and melted the snow, and ignited the leaves of the trees that surrounded them in carefully calculated locations.

The fire jumped from tree to tree, and spread across the city. The inferi, which had grown in number as the number of deaths had grown, slowly began to burn into ashes. But still the dark wizards, and dementors, and other creatures crawled across the land.

Harry, as if on auto pilot, raised his wand and conjured a memory from his youth. "_EXPECTO PATRONUM!"_ He shouted into the night sky. A silver wisp of magic escaped the tip and transformed into an incredibly solid, incredibly vivid, incredibly bright stag. Harry looked at it and shouted at it to fend off the evil, it bowed his head and swiftly turned around to gallop away.

In the corner of his eye, Harry could swear he saw Luna slashing through monsters with a sword which looked entirely too big for her being. When she noticed Harry she stopped, for a half second, and gave him a big grin, before returning to her hacking.

Harry spun around and saw people everywhere. And he noticed that the ground was almost completely covered in carcasses. The sight revolted him and he began to do his hardest not to think about it.

From behind him a voice came, "Disturbing isn't it?"

He spun around and saw a tall, lean woman with long blonde hair looking at him. There was something cruel in the way she looked at him, and he couldn't help but widen his eyes and give a half step back.

"I'm sure you can guess who I am. It's great seeing you here, awake. You look much more… bony." She smiled, but the effect was rather creepy and totally devoid of humor that Harry never felt more afraid.

Harry's hand, the one that held his wand, twitched.

"Harry, don't bother with the wand. All I want to do is talk. That's all this is about… you and I… talking." Harry did not respond. "I want to know what you think of me and my power. More importantly I want to know what you think about yourself, and your undeniable… luck throughout the years."

"What?"

The Dark Lady shrugged, "Oh, it doesn't matter. We all end up dead in the end, don't we?"

It was a quick movement, hardly noticeable, but in that flash Harry's wand was in the air, pointed directly at the Dark Lady.

But she had been faster. Her wand had already been poised, and all she had to do was say, "_Petrificus totalus_," under her breath and Harry felt so completely heavy.

His body fell over, blending into everyone else's, and she bent over him, ripping his wand from his grasp. She threw it only a few feet away and stepped back admiring her work. "Harry, Harry, Harry… you're the prize – aren't you? And now I have you. I'll be famous. I'll be a name to go down in history – the woman who killed Harry Potter. Victoria… the Great? The Terrible? Oh, I don't know… we'll work on it."

Her gaze fell back on the seemingly lifeless body and she muttered something to herself, in disgust.

It was at that moment that fire leapt from all sides, encasing them in, together. The flames were tall, and seemed to lick the sky. It suddenly dawned on Harry, as beads of sweat began to form on his brow, that this could be it. He could actually die.

He had survived death, twice. More then likely, he would not be so lucky his third time. But he could not move, and it was driving him crazy. His wand, no doubt, was probably turning into ashes in the flames, and his hands were of no use in this state. He was out of options.

And in this moment of utter desperation, he realized something. The Lady, however evil she could be, was attractive. Her face had not been mutated by evil, as Voldemort's had, yet her skin was so pale…

And it scared Harry that someone so human could be so soul-less.

She was quickly approaching, wand out and aimed at Harry's chest. Her mouth was moving, but Harry couldn't hear over the crackles of the flames and the screams radiating from the areas around them.

She was close now. Her wand made contact with his oily flesh, and she was whispering in his ears. Her breath was hot against his skin. "Voldemort was foolish. He, in his attempt to distance himself from humanity, only brought himself closer." She took a dramatic pause. "He feared death." She took two steps back and cackled and for a brief moment she looked like Bellatrix. "As for me – kill me! I don't care – oh wait, I forgot." She clearly hadn't forgotten that Harry was still under the influence of a full body bind spell, but she pointed her long, thin wand at him and suddenly he was free. "I want you to try and kill me!"

Harry raised his hands and using the little strength that had returned to him, managed a weak disarming spell that caused The Lady's wand to fly a feet or two out of her hands.

"You're weak," she stated, falling back to retrieve her wand.

"I. Am. Not." Harry spit back.

She merely looked amused. And in all her strength, something made her smile falter. "A crying shame, really. I expected so much more."

"I AM NOT WEAK!"

Her eyes fell into slits and a pair of wings erupted from her back and she hovered in the air. Her face became mutated and ugly, and her hands became vicious. Harry realized his mistake and he scrambled backwards, but he felt his hair get so hot that he stopped, afraid it would burn.

A voice, not far away, screamed for Harry.

Harry tried, but could not respond. A stream of green light shot through the warring night, through raging flames, over bodies and fragments of beings, and straight towards The Dark Lady's back.

She swirled around, as if in anticipation and lunged at something that hung around her neck.

By the time Luna had made her way through the fire and to Harry's side, the Dark Lady was completely gone.

* * *

That's the end of this story! Wow, it's been a long ride, and I'm so sorry I took so long to write this. Writers block, as many of you probably know – it's a bitch! Anyways, I'll post the sequel sometime eventually, but it wont be for a while. I think I'm going to have to write it all out first before I can post it because the sequel is a huge story, and if I did it chapter by chapter I don't think I could do it justice.

As usual, this chapter is un-beta'd.

A quick shout out to everyone who has stuck by this story from the beginning, for all the reviews, alerts, and favorites. It means so much.  
Much love, KAI


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